Achieving New Zealand's Emissions Reduction Goals With Nature-based, Non-Forestry Carbon Storage

Biochar Network New Zealand (BNNZ) welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on New Zealand’s Second Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP).

The inclusion of biochar as a carbon removal activity in the 2026-2030 ERP discussion document is a step toward acknowledging the carbon capture and storage capacity of biochar.

Made by pyrolysis of tree or plant waste, biochar is one of few negative emissions technologies (NETs) recognised by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Biochar safely stores up to half the carbon in its source material for hundreds to thousands of years. As an additional benefit, the process of pyrolysis yields energy that can be used to replace fossil fuels in electricity generation and industrial process heat.

“Despite IPCC recognition since 2018, successive governments have demonstrated a reluctance to engage with biochar as a tangible climate action solution,” says Phil Stevens, deputy chair of BNNZ. “The current government’s goal to prioritise the most promising non-forestry removals technologies based on affordability, scalability, scientific validation and overseas acceptance, all point to biochar being included into future Emissions Reduction Plans.”

Biochar is the low hanging fruit of carbon capture and storage. Instead of allowing plant waste like forestry slash to naturally decompose, the process of making biochar stores carbon that would otherwise be re-emitted as methane and carbon dioxide. As well as safely storing carbon, when added to the ground, biochar triggers a reaction that improves soil health.

“Worldwide, governments are including biochar as part of their portfolio to meet carbon emissions reduction targets,” says Stevens. In Australia, work is underway to add biochar to their version of the Emissions Trading Scheme. In Denmark, the government recently announced a new strategy to reduce agricultural emissions, with biochar being part of the solution.

In New Zealand, “carbon farmers” have been making and applying biochar for many years, using accessible, affordable, old-tech infrastructure. More recently, larger-scale commercial projects such as Southland Carbon have been established, and local governments are funding biochar-based projects like The Good Carbon Farm to meet their carbon reduction goals.

Consultation on the Second Emissions Reduction Plan closes 21 August 2024.

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