The Paris Climate Change Agreement enters into force 4th November. In October, the Committee on Climate Change released UK Climate Action following the Paris agreement, which recommends;
- Do not set new UK emissions targets now – we already have stretching targets
Vigorously pursue the measures required to deliver on existing commitments
Set out strategies for developing options to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Examples include afforestation and carbon-storing materials.
Sequestered carbon is highlighted in this report for the first time as a carbon mitigation opportunity, in Fig 3.1. They’ve only put in a small contribution from sequestration in increased wood use, with a projected maximum of 4 MtCO2e by 2050.
ASBP is really pleased to note this precedent, as we have been working hard to communicate with government to recognise this opportunity. We have had numerous meetings with DECC over the last four years and it seems this message has finally got through.
ASBP’s research suggests that this number could be much higher and higher still with drivers and policies to encourage greater use of bio-based materials. We are now developing a proposal that demonstrates how systems can deliver higher levels of sequestered carbon.
Read the report in full here.