The UK has established a target of net zero by 2050 under its revised Climate Change Act (2008). Specifically, the UK aims to ensure its emissions in 2050 are at least 100% below their 1990 levels.

This target applies to the whole of the United Kingdom. However, the devolved nations of the UK have additionally enshrined net zero targets in their national legislation. Wales and Northern Ireland are targeting net zero by 2050 and Scotland is targeting net zero by 2045. Similar phrasing is used in the devolved legislation, targeting emissions at least 100% lower than the baseline.

Under the Climate Change Act (2008), the UK is required to set legally binding carbon budgets which operate over a 5-year period. Budgets must be prepared 12 years in advance. The latest carbon budget to be set was the Sixth Carbon Budget, covering the period 2033-2037, while the 7^th budget will be set in 2025, covering the 2038-2042 period. There is also a legal obligation to prepare proposals and policies to enable carbon budgets to be met, and to report on these. The UK has met the first three carbon budgets it has set for itself.

The carbon budgets apply to the whole of the United Kingdom.

The devolved nations of the UK have interim targets for 2030 written into law, i.e. Northern Ireland has set an interim target of 48% reduction by 2030 through the Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, and Wales has set an interim target of 63% by 2030 through the Climate Change (Interim Emissions Targets) (Wales) Regulations 2021. Wales also has an interim target of 89% by 2040 under the same regulation. Scotland set an interim target of 75% by 2030 through the Climate Change (Emissions Reductions Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019, as well as a 90% target for 2040, however the 2030 target is expected to be scrapped, as it is now seen as unachievable.

The UK also participates in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) process under the Paris Agreement. The UK’s first NDC commits to an emissions reductions target of 68% by 2030, while the second NDC (submitted January 2025) commits to a target of 81% by 2035. This target is not legally binding. The next round of NDCs will be submitted in 2030.

The UK Climate Change Act does not enshrine distinct targets for gross emissions and removals in law.

The UK’s devolved nations also do not have separate targets for gross emissions and removals.

The Sixth Carbon Budget indicates that, under the Climate Change Committee’s 'Balanced Net Zero Pathway' scenario, 39 MtCO₂/year of nature-based removals will be needed on UK land in 2050.

Notably, both the UK’s Net Zero Strategy and the later Carbon Budget Delivery Plan have been ruled to be unlawful by the High Court. In a ruling in May 2024, the latter document was found to not have adequately considered the risk of policies not being delivered.

There are no significant political or legislative discussions surrounding the need for a gross emissions or removals target.

The UK Climate Change Act does not enshrine distinct targets for LULUCF removals and permanent removals in law.

The UK’s devolved nations also do not have separate targets for LULUCF removals and permanent removals.

The UK’s Net Zero Strategy and the later Carbon Budget Delivery Plan outline an indicative target of 5 MtCO₂/year of engineered removals by 2030, but this target has no legal basis.

The UK also has various targets for land use that will increase the land sink (e.g. 17% forest cover by 2050, restore 50% of upland peat) but no specific carbon-related target, legal or not.

The UK Climate Change Act does not specify a net negative target after its climate neutrality date of 2050. The language is however somewhat open as it suggests the UK carbon account must be at least 100% lower than the 1990 baseline.

The UK’s devolved nations also do not have net negative targets after their respective climate neutrality dates, though the Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish legislation mirrors the language of a minimum 100% reduction.

There are no significant political or legislative discussions surrounding the need for a net negative target. The consultation document Integrating Greenhouse Gas Removals in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme notes the possibility that emissions trading schemes could incorporate net negative caps, but this stipulation does not currently translate to a policy proposal.

Government is exploring how to limit mitigation deterrence in its proposal regarding Integrating Greenhouse Gas Removals in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme through its choice of cap.

The like-for-like principle is not currently reflected in any relevant UK legislation. The UK’s consultation on GGR integration in the ETS highlights the need for a permanence threshold, but also considers the option to integrate woodland creation GGRs into the compliance system, which would undermine like-for-like.

In UK policies there are various requirements regarding biomass sustainability, though these are sector-specific, being outlined in policies including the Renewable Obligation Order (RO), Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), Green Gas Support Scheme (GGSS), Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), UK Emissions Trading scheme (UKETS), and private law contracts within the Contracts for Difference scheme (CfD), and in the Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard (LCHS). These biomass criteria are aligned with the EU Renewable Energy Directive. Criteria are divided into GHG criteria and land criteria. The Biomass Strategy published in 2023 highlighted areas for improvement in these criteria including standardisation across sectors, and developing understanding on topics like Indirect Land Use Change. In the same document, the government indicates it will consult on the development of a cross-sectoral sustainability framework to better align sectoral requirements.

The government has expressed its aim to introduce sustainability criteria for solid and gaseous biomass combusted in UK ETS installations.

In December 2023 the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) indicated its intention to define its own set of GGR methodologies, which would set out the requirements for GGR projects to become eligible to receive funding under its GGR Business Model policy, as well as to participate in the UK ETS. These methodologies are expected to develop over time, starting with methodology quality thresholds, which will emerge into a fully-fledged GGR Standard. The timeline for developing these is unclear.

DESNZ has also announced that it will consult on specific interventions needed to develop high-integrity voluntary carbon markets, building on work by VCMI and ICVCM.

The government has not proposed to create a public certification mechanism – this will likely happen through individual instruments e.g. eligibility criteria for the ETS.

A timeline has not been provided for these developments and no proposals have yet been published. The MRV framework will likely take some time to emerge.

UK Competition and Markets Authority has developed the Green Claims Code, a set of principles which are designed to help businesses comply with the law on corporate claims.

The corpus of UK consumer protection law, such as the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, currently requires that business claims are: are truthful and accurate; are clear and unambiguous; do not omit or hide important [information]; compare goods or services in a fair and meaningful way; consider the full life cycle of the product or service; are substantiated. There is also sector-specific guidance in some cases. While these rules should filter out the weakest climate-related claims, there is still a need for specific rules on how emissions reductions and removals should be used by businesses to achieve a pathway aligned with Paris Agreement targets.

There is no evidence of movement to establish government-developed or –endorsed rules for climate claims.

The Energy Act 2023 amends the Climate Change Act 2008 to allow for a wider range of CDR types. Where the Climate Change Act 2008 defined “UK removals” as “means removals of that gas from the atmosphere due to land use, land-use change or forestry activities in the United Kingdom”, the 2023 amendment introduces the language “removals of that gas from the atmosphere due to processes, mechanisms or activities in the United Kingdom”.

The UK’s latest NDC, published in 2022, defines the territorial scope of UK climate change mitigation (emissions and removals from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Island, as well as certain crown dependencies and overseas territories). In terms of GHG pools in scope, the NDC states that: “All LULUCF pools are included in the NDC: above ground biomass, below ground biomass, litter, deadwood soil organic carbon and stocks of harvested wood products”.

The UK reports annually on its Greenhouse Gas Inventory as part of its obligations under the UNFCCC. Currently, the LULUCF sector is the only sector within the national greenhouse gas inventory which reports both sources and sinks. Removals from industrial or other activities are thus not included in the UK emissions inventory.

The UK’s NDC expresses that it “intends to meet its NDC target through reducing emissions domestically” but it “reserves the right to use voluntary cooperation under Article 6”. “Such use could occur through the linking of the UK emissions trading scheme to another emissions trading system or through the use of emissions reductions or removals units”.

Thus, the use of Article 6 has been clearly allowed.

(a) Legal framework covering key aspects

The UK’s legal framework for CO₂ transport and storage (T&S) is evolving. The UK has in place a liability regime for CO₂ leakage. The current framework can be summarised as follows (more detail is provided below):

Liability for CO₂ storage

Liability of operators for CO₂ storage during the operation of T&S sites is established under the Storage of Carbon Dioxide (Licensing etc.) Regulations 2010, whereby operators must take corrective measures and measures for the protection of human health.

Liability is transferred to Secretary of State when a licence is surrendered, as set out under the Storage of Carbon Dioxide (Termination of Licence) Regulations 2011

Environmental safety and remediation

Liability to remediate environmental damage is established under the Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) Regulations 2015

Operation of CO₂ storage sites is explicitly included in that regulation

Introduces liability for pollution from ships (strict liability) and pollution from pipelines (fault-based liability)

Legality of CO₂ transport and storage

CO₂ T&S is legal under the licensing regime set out in the Energy Act 2023 and Storage of Carbon Dioxide (Licensing etc.) Regulations 2010

All CO₂ types included in the legal framework

There is no legislation limiting the origins of CO₂that can be transported and stored.

London Protocol

The UK has ratified the London Protocol and is also one of 5 contracting parties to the Protocol to have ratified a 2009 amendment to Article 6 aimed at enabling Parties to share transboundary sub-seabed geological formations for sequestration projects.

The UK has expressed its intention to participate in cross-border cooperations relating to CO₂ transport and storage.

In December 2024, the UK and Norway announced a Green Industrial Partnership in which the countries plan to cooperate on clean energy innovations including in the North Sea. As part of this, the countries plan to work to identify gaps and challenges for the development of the North Sea as a CO2 storage hub and to develop a bilateral agreement on cross-border CO₂ transport under the London Protocol.

Similar agreements of cooperation have been established with France (on energy) and with Germany (on energy and climate), both specifically referencing cross-border transport of CO₂.

Detailed overview of UK legal framework

The Energy Act 2023 and Storage of Carbon Dioxide (Licensing etc.) Regulations 2010 work together to set out rules for CO₂ storage in the UK, including:[1]

• Licensing regime – The two instruments set out the licence regime for the operation of geological CO₂ storage sites and the service of transporting CO₂ via pipelines or other means. While the Act establishes the licensing authority, the Regulations establish the detailed licensing process.
• Counterparty – The Act sets out the duties of the counterparty, the publicly owned company that will manage contracts and distribute revenue support.
• Competitive allocation – The Act sets out rules for competitive allocation of licences. The CCUS Vision states that in early stages, some business models will adopt a bilateral (non-competitive) process to allocate licences, but over time will move to a competitive allocation to drive down costs.
• Gas shipper levy – The Act provides powers to the Secretary of State to appoint a hydrogen levy administrator. This appointment allows for the possibility of future levy funding of the hydrogen business model.
• Funds for decommissioning – The Act allows the Secretary of State to set requirements for relevant persons to pay into a decommissioning fund, as well as to provide estimates about decommissioning costs and review these estimates regularly.
• The Act also sets out the regime in case of T&S company insolvency and provisions in case of need to transfer T&S operation to the state.

(b) Legal framework covering all types of CO₂

The UK ETS only recognises fossil CO₂ under its scope, as it only puts a price on emissions of fossil CO₂. Biogenic emissions are not priced – this will be a source of complexity as the UK progresses to integrate waste incineration to its ETS in the coming years.

Note: In the context of carbon management, there are three main types of CO₂, depending on their sources: atmospheric, biogenic and fossil CO₂. Atmospheric CO₂ is generally sourced from direct air capture, biogenic CO₂ from bio-energy with carbon capture and fossil CO₂ by point-source carbon capture in industrial facilities burning fossil fuels. Legal frameworks must cover all types of CO₂ to ensure equal access to CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure.

[1] DESNZ (2023). Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage: A Vision to Establish a Competitive Market. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6594718a579941000d35a7bf/carbon-capture-usage-and-storage-vision-to-establish-a-competitive-market.pdf

(a) Physical storage capacities

Geological storage

The CO₂ Stored project, an initiative of British Geological Survey and The Crown Estate (who manage and own almost all the UK seabed), estimates that the UK continental shelf has capacity to safely store up to 78 Gt of CO₂ – this number has been recognised in the UK’s CCUS Vision document.

Furthermore, the regulatory regime enhances visibility and transparency regarding CO₂ transport and storage capacity, with operators expected to communicate to stakeholders what they have available. This transparency is expected to be enshrined in the license regime and in the CCS Network Code, which is currently at draft stage (per the CCUS Vision).

Mineral and product storage

No quantification of UK CO₂ storage capacity in mineral stores or in products has been recognised in government publications. Only LULUCF sinks are included in the national GHG inventory – sinks associated with other sectors are not recognised or reported.

(b) Estimation of CO₂ storage needs

The UK aims to capture 20-30 MtCO₂/year by 2030 via its four CCUS clusters. The CCUS Vision indicates the aim to deploy 90-170 MtCO₂/year of CCUS by 2050. It is unclear the volumes expected to be needed of GGR specifically.

In the Sixth Carbon Budget, the Climate Change Committee expects CO₂ capture needs to the ‘Balanced Net Zero' pathway to be approximately 105 MtCO₂/year, with the majority (around 60 MtCO2/year) going towards GGR. The CCC has also mapped out CO₂ capture needs in other scenarios.

Ownership of infrastructure

The UK’s CCUS policy framework is designed to de-risk CCUS, particularly by managing cross-chain risk. For example:

• A framework of economic regulation is established under the Energy Act to protect network users from anti-competitive behaviours, including monopolistic pricing. Ofgem is established as the economic regulator
• The Energy Act also establishes the primary legislative framework for the Industrial Carbon Capture, Greenhouse Gas Removals and Low Carbon Hydrogen Production business models. The framework is designed to attract private finance, remove market barriers to investment, and provide long-term revenue certainty to establish and scale up these industries across the UK.
• The government is also working in close cooperation with CCUS delivery partners to develop a clear and effective CCS Network Code, which sets out the commercial, operational and technical arrangements for use and growth of the CO₂ transport and storage system.

State support

UK is providing extensive state support for CCUS under the cluster sequencing programme.

Phase-1 of the cluster sequencing process identified and sequenced CCUS clusters suited to deployment in the mid-2020s. These clusters had the first opportunity to negotiate for support from the government’s CCUS programme. Phase-1 was open to cluster organisations which:

• • were located in the UK
  • were capable of deploying by 2030
  • met the definition of a CCUS cluster (see the guidance for more information)

Phase-2 was open to Power, Industrial Carbon Capture and Hydrogen production projects which met the technology specific eligibility criteria.

The UK aims to de-risk CCUS activities through the use of subsidy contracts referred to as “business models”, typically in the form of contracts for difference. The Industrial Carbon Capture and Waste Industrial Carbon Capture business models have been designed to incentivise the deployment of carbon capture technology by industrial users who often have no viable alternative to achieve deep decarbonisation. A business model is now under development to support Greenhouse Gas Removal, as well as a dedicated model for Power BECCS. See more under “Deployment incentives”.

The Labour Party (which now forms the government) in its 2024 election manifesto committed an additional GBP 1 billion to CCUS development in the UK. In October 2024 the new government announced £21.7bn in funding for specific CCUS projects (though not including any CDR projects), to be delivered over 25 years.

Indication of capture and storage volumes

The UK has a commitment to deploy CCUS at scale in two of the UK’s industrial clusters by the mid-2020s, and a further two by 2030. However, the government has recently indicated that such targets are not likely to be achievable in the originally specified timeline.

The permitting process for carbon storage in the UK is established under the Energy Act 2023 and The Storage of Carbon Dioxide (Licensing etc.) Regulations 2010. Key permitting milestones include:

• Licence to explore for CO₂ storage – Carbon Dioxide Appraisal and Storage Licence
• Storage permit – Licence to operate a storage site must be obtained via a Storage Permit Application
• A Crown Estate Lease is also required to for any intrusive exploration or appraisal activities as well as for operating sites.

However, no specific timeline for permit approval is provided in the regulation. Some indicative timelines are outlined by the Authority.

More detail on the licensing regime below.

• Licensing regime – The two instruments set out the licence regime for the operation of geological CO₂ storage sites and the service of transporting CO₂ via pipelines or other means. While the Act establishes the licensing authority, the Regulations establish the detailed licensing process.
  • Obtaining a licence
    • The licensing regime is overseen by the North Sea Transition Authority (previously the Oil and Gas Authority). Operators intending to develop storage sites in the UK must first obtain a Carbon Dioxide Appraisal and Storage Licence, and then a storage permit to construct facilities.
    • Under the regime, T&S operators will also require an economic licence from the energy regulator Ofgem to operate and charge for access to their T&S networks.
  • Licence conditions – Conditions include details on Allowed Revenue to ensure costs are appropriate.

Biomass availability

In 2011 the UK government commissioned the development of the UK and Global Bioenergy Resource Model, and in 2024 an updated version was published. The Model uses scenarios to estimate the availability of biomass and associated energy from 2025 to 2050.

The UK’s 2023 Biomass Strategy uses evidence from the Model to examine two scenarios for future biomass availability, considering a restricted supply and an ambitious supply, based on different levels of biomass imports. Both scenarios include a sustainability constraint. The ranges generated for biomass availability are 550-750 PJ in 2025, and 500- 1,000 PJ in 2050.

Renewable energy supply

A 2021 report by the National Infrastructure Commission examined the electricity demand for delivering engineered greenhouse gas removals from 2030 to 2050.

Infrastructure availability

The National Infrastructure Commission report also examines the needs related to water, heat, transport and storage network access, as well as biomass, associated with delivering large-scale greenhouse gas removal from 2030 to 2050.

The UK’s Innovation Strategy, published in 2021, looks primarily at the period up to 2035. GGR is mentioned as part of the category “Energy & Environment Technologies”, including a very brief explainer of what they are. The category is mentioned as one of seven technology families of "strength and opportunity”. The Strategy is not specific as to how it will bring forward the technology families and does not mention how it will support the Energy & Environment family in particular.

UKRI, the body that directs R&I funding, published its first multi-year strategy for 2022-2027, which does not mention GGR.

The UK has earmarked a relatively small amount of money for GGR at large via research and innovation funding. A larger sum is expected to be directed towards GGRs via the Business Model policy, but no specific budget has been set.

The UK supported an GBP 8.6 million R&D programme (GGR-A) from 2017-2022, which looked at soils, enhanced weathering, afforestation, methane removal, GGR in the iron and steel industry, region-specific optimisation and other topics.

The UK also established a GBP 100 million RD&I programme from 2021-2026 in conjunction with UKRI to support a range of removals, including:

• A GBP 31.5 million investment into GGR demonstration (GGR-D) focusing on biochar, enhanced weathering, peatland restoration, perennial biomass, and woodland creation and management via five demonstrators and a coordinating hub to perform cross-cutting research.
• GBP 70 million for a Direct Air Capture and other Greenhouse Gas Removals Competition, targeted at taking GGR technologies from TRL 4 to TRL 7 or higher, via a design and piloting process.

The support landscape in the UK for R&D in novel CDR methods after these programmes end is unclear.

The Timber in Construction Innovation Fund is a GBP 1.7 million fund to support the development of new timber products for construction, or methods for construction using English timber. This fund is alongside another GBP 7.6 million (Woodlands into Management Forestry Innovation Funds) to support other novel uses of timber for building.

There are also various funding pots for research into forest carbon storage, including the GBP 12.1 million Trees for Climate Programme and GBP 750,000 investment into forest resilience, management and protection of England’s temperate rainforests.

The UK government is planning a revenue support mechanism for innovative UK GGR technologies (the GGR Business Model) and a similar but separate mechanism dedicated to power BECCS (the Power BECCS Business Model) via a carbon contract for difference approach. The budget for this policy has not yet been publicly disclosed, so it is not clear how many projects will be supported through this mechanism.

The government has established business models that will support CCUS and GGR operators and drive deployment, by providing support with cross-chain risk. The business models are tailored to different CCUS sectors, including Industrial Carbon Capture Business Model, Hydrogen Production Business Model, Dispatchable Power Agreement framework for power CCS, BECCS Business Model, and GGR Business Model. The business models generally involve revenue support and, in some cases, capital support for projects.

No specific deployment incentives are available for enhanced weathering.

The England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) incentivises woodland planting via a range of mechanisms including capital support, maintenance payments (for 15 years), contributions to infrastructure costs, and other payments. It is available from 2021-2025.

The Woodland Carbon Guarantee is a GBP 50 million scheme where the government acts as a buyer of last resort for woodland carbon units, every 5 or 10 years up to 2055-56. It does not support upfront or maintenance costs for planting.

The GBP 640 million Nature for Climate Fund provides the main source of funding for nature-based climate change mitigation in England to 2025, and aims to support peatland restoration (GBP 50 million) and tree planting (GBP 500 million). Within this fund, the Peatland Grant Scheme provides grants to peatland restoration projects at five sites, targeting the restoration of 35,000 ha of peatland by 2025 (this process is now largely seen as emissions reductions)[1].

The UK’s Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS) replaces the EU CAP scheme, targeting 70,000 agreements with farmers and land managers by 2028 (covering 70% of farmed land), to provide payments for environmental goods alongside food production. This scheme includes three programmes which will support environmental and climate goods and services in different ways. The total budget or expected carbon impact remains unclear.

No specific deployment incentives are in place for carbon storage in other products.

[1] Field, G. et al (2024). Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme Process Evaluation. Interim Evaluation - Final Report May 2024 Natural England Commissioned Report NECR546.

The Government is planning to integrate GGRs into the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, providing a compliance market for GGR units. The government was consulting on design principles, with submissions closed in August 2024. It has been indicated that the UK ETS could be ready to integrate GGRs by 2028 at the earliest.

Carbon removal and storage elements feature in the ELMs subsidy scheme that replaced the EU Common Agricultural Policy. This scheme includes current or future payments for: minimising bare ground for carbon storage; maintaining sphagnum moss for carbon capture; lowland peat management practices that slow emissions of CO₂; a range of forest carbon-related payments (woodland creation, woodland management, tree protection, agroforestry, hedgerows); wetland management practices that store carbon; coastal management practices that store carbon.

The UK’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Mandate was signed into law in November 2024, and is likely to drive the development of DAC. The mandate states that from 2025, jet fuel in the UK must include 2% sustainable aviation fuels, which is approximately equal to 230,000 tonnes of SAF. This requirement will increase annually to 10% in 2030 and 22% in 2040. Eligible fuels include biomass-derived fuels as well as recycled carbon fuels (RCFs), and Power-to-Liquid (PtL) fuels made using low carbon (renewable or nuclear) electricity. The mandate will also include a dedicated PtL obligation. The obligation will be introduced in 2028 where it will be set at 0.2% of total jet fuel demand, and will increase to 0.5% in 2030 and 3.5% in 2040.

No specific procurement policies exist for supporting low-carbon products, construction practices, procurement, or similar areas.

The following policies are not specifically carbon pricing policies but may play a similar role.

The UK’s SAF mandate aims to achieve at least 10% SAF in the UK aviation fuel mix by 2030. The government will set annual targets on fuel suppliers to blend a proportion of SAF into their fuel supply, using a tradeable certificate scheme. Certificates will be issued in proportion to GHG emissions reductions delivered.

In the UK, public participation in decision-making related to large infrastructure projects is enabled via the planning process. Some channels for participation include the following:

• Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) and Statement of Consultation (SoC) – Local planning authorities must state a promise to consult, producing an SCI document describing how they plan to involve the community. The SoC describes how communities have been involved, in line with the SCI, in the production of a local development plan.
• Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) - NSIPs are major commercial, energy, transport, waste and water infrastructure schemes which are subject to a streamlined decision-making process. Engagement processes are set out for pre-application and post-submission stages.
• Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) - EIAs must be conducted at an NSIP’s pre-application stage as well as for other large developments, and offer an “alternative approach to public participation, whereby EIA processes are framed, instead, around specialist reports” which consider impacts including socio-economic and health impacts. To perform this research, public consultation is legally required.
• Neighbourhood planning – a process in which local communities develop their own plans for land use and development in their local area, which can achieve the same legal status as those developed by local authorities.
• Statutory and judicial review (alleged procedural failure) - a local planning authority can be challenged for not meeting consultation requirements, including the fairness of procedure.

The UK government has undertaken public consultation throughout its GGR policy development process, including the following opportunities for public participation:

• Public consultation – Integrating greenhouse gas removals in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme – August 2024
• Public consultation – Business Models for Engineered Greenhouse Gas Removals – September 2022
• Public consultation – Developing the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) – June 2022
• Call for evidence – Greenhouse Gas Removals – February 2021
• The Biomass Public Dialogue Project “gathered public views on the role of biomass in achieving net zero, included views on the different sources of biomass”.

In 2019, the UK hosted a citizens’ assembly on climate action and net zero in 2020, bringing together 108 participants from across the UK to debate various policy options including how to approach greenhouse gas removal.

Some mechanisms to fund socio-economic benefits and the just transition include the following (though funding comes from the government budget):

• Levelling Up Fund – the fund provides GBP 4 billion over 4 years (2021-2025) to invest in community-level infrastructure across the UK.
• Community Renewal Fund - the GBP 220 million fund (2021-2022) supported projects related to business, skills development, employment, and place-making.
• Shared Prosperity Fund - the GBP 2.6 billion fund (2022-2025) invests in communities and place, local businesses, and people and skills, with all areas of the UK receiving an allocation from the fund.
• UK Community Ownership Fund - the GBP 150 million fund (2021-2025) supports community ownership of assets which may otherwise be closed.
• Lifetime Skills Guarantee – this programme includes support such as the Lifelong Loan Entitlement, to support post-18 education, as well as a range of training programmes and qualifications for lifetime learning.
• Green Jobs Taskforce – the taskforce ran from 2020-2021 and developed evidence on skills for the net zereo transition.

None of these mechanisms actively distribute revenues from large infrastructure projects.

UKRI has stated that the UK lacks a community benefits framework for networked infrastructure like CCUS or hydrogen, mirroring that which has been developed for the electricity system.

Under the UKRI-funded GGR-D programme, outlined above, UKRI has provided GBP 30 million in funding to five interdisciplinary projects and a central coordinating hub. The projects themselves are interdisciplinary, including technical as well as social research, while the coordination hub undertakes research on topics including CDR-related social, economic, cultural, ethical and legal issues.

The UK Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC) has core research streams examining the social and ethical dimensions of CDR. These include: Delivering a place-based just transition in industrial clusters; Understanding public responses to industrial decarbonisation in insecure times; Net zero sense of place; Enabling skills for the industrial decarbonisation supply chain; Diversity to decarbonise: promoting EDI in the future workforce; and Labour market and other wider economy challenges in decarbonising the UK’s industry clusters. The learnings of these research areas will likely be transferred to the GGR sector. The Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge at large is funded to the tune of GBP 210 million from 2019-2024. It covers six industrial clusters which currently employ 1.5 million people.