Join the Institute for Carbon Removal and Policy for the next event in its webinar series, “Scrubbing the Skies: The Role of Carbon Dioxide Removal in Combating Climate Change.” The series focuses on scientific, technological, legal, political, and justice-focused issues associated with carbon dioxide removal., and is hosted by Co-Director Wil Burns.
Wood Harvesting and Storage (WHS) is a novel hybrid Nature-engineering method for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and semi-permanent sequestration. In this method, sustainably sourced woody biomass is buried in Wood Vault, an engineering structure designed to maintain anaerobic conditions to prevent wood decomposition. The storage accumulates indefinitely as wood accumulates in a near-geological state. Several entities around the world have commenced work on biomass burial projects. Proponents argue that the process could facilitate gigaton-scale CO2 removal in the US with an order of magnitude less land than we currently use for landfills.
The participants in this webinar included one of the leading proponents of the process, as well as experts in biomass carbon sequestration and verification and accounting protocols. They discussed the carbon sequestration potential of this approach, as well as critical questions related to monitoring and verification, and the challenges of full-carbon accounting.
Panelists:
Daniel Sanchez- Chief Scientist for Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage, Carbon Direct
Ning Zeng- Professor, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science and the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland
Marianne Tikkanen- Head of Carbon Removal Supply, Puro Earth
Moderator:
Wil Burns, Northwestern Environmental Policy and Culture Program