Report calls for B.C. leadership to boost carbon dioxide removal strategies

A report released by The Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions calls for a B.C.-backed carbon removal strategy.

In the report titled, Survive and Thrive: Why B.C. needs a CO2 (carbon dioxide) removal strategy now, author Devin Todd detailed how negative emissions technologies (NET) should be considered to mitigate climate change.

Todd, who is a researcher-in-residence at The Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS), explored in the report why an approach to climate change using NET is not only viable, but necessary. PICS is hosted and led by the University of Victoria in collaboration with the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and the University of Northern British Columbia.

For B.C. to thrive, Todd said permanent removal of CO2 and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere is a must-do and soon.

“Achieving our climate goals generally will require everyone to work together,” Todd said over the phone, referring to provinces and cities working in tandem with the federal government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“The report is hoping to be a call to action for us as a society to start talking about negative emissions and how to achieve them.”

Indeed, the report calls for public leadership to support the creation and success of a B.C. NET strategy, which could include machines that remove and store CO2 and increasing the storage of carbon in plants and soils.

Other examples of NET solutions include afforestation, or the establishment of forests on otherwise tree-free land, as well as altering ocean chemistry to help draw CO2 down from the air.

One thing that the city can do is amplify the need for a conversation around negative emissions so that we as a society can have more viable options for tackling climate change.

Regardless of what option we take, Todd said something needs to be done that will make a difference.

“If we let business as usual decide our course, the outcome might not be what we hope for.”

READ MORE: UVic researching injecting CO2 into ocean floor