Carbon-capturing crops to combat climate change

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing our planet. As global temperatures warm, we are seeing a rise in sea levels,  the loss of biodiversity, pressures on food and freshwater for an ever-growing world population, more frequent floods, droughts, forest fires and other extreme weather conditions.

One of the main contributors to climate change is the huge increase in carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution. Levels have doubled over the past 200 years as a result of human activities such as burning fossil fuels, cutting down forests and intensive agriculture to feed an expanding population. It’s why environmental scientists at Aberystwyth University are focussing their research to the reversal of global warming by harnessing the remarkable ability of plants to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere.

Led by Professor Iain Donnison, Head of the University’s Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS), our scientists are breeding new varieties of fast-growing plants which use their natural process of photosynthesis to absorb CO₂. The carbon taken from the air in the form of plant biomass can then either be converted into products such as building materials, turned into a biofuel to replace coal in steel production, or used to generate bioenergy with the carbon dioxide captured and stored underground.

Researchers have already developed new varieties of fast-growing tropical grasses such as Miscanthus which can be easily grown in the United Kingdom as a biomass crop. Often referred to as ‘elephant grass’, Miscanthus can grow up to four metres in a single year and does well on land less suitable for food crops.

Making a difference

The findings of the research being carried out at Aberystwyth are being shared with governments and other organisations as part of the drive towards reaching net zero targets.

Professor Donnison has provided expert evidence to government committees, including, for example, the Welsh Senedd’s Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee’s 2024 report on Welsh Government’s proposals for a Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), and a Research Briefing Note to the UK Parliaments Climate Change Committee’s report in 2023 on Biomass for UK energy. He was also a member of the Climate Change Committee’s land use expert advisory group for their major report in 2020 on Land Use: Policies for a Net Zero UK.

“The continuing rise in levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere pose a real threat to the natural world in which we all live and on which we depend for food, water, wellbeing and so much more. It is imperative therefore that we tackle these greenhouse gas emissions and halt global warming while still meeting global demands for food and energy, sustainably” explains Professor Donnison.

“At IBERS, we are developing a range of plants which not only remove carbon dioxide from the air but which also leave a very low carbon footprint behind them. These plants, for example, can produce up to 40 times the amount of energy compared to the energy needed to produce them.

“We are taking our findings out of the laboratory and beyond our experimental research plots in order to make a difference in the real world, providing farming and energy industries with a route towards decarbonisation and creating green economic growth. Our work is also helping the Welsh and UK governments to reach their net zero carbon emissions targets as well as providing society with a route to compensate for past, current and future carbon dioxide emissions.”

Global Engagement

Scientists at IBERS and its predecessor, the Welsh Plant Breeding Station, have been carrying out groundbreaking research that underpins the breeding of new and improved varieties of crops for more than a century, making agriculture more sustainable and enabling industry to develop new products and processes across the world.

The Institute’s core research is focused on making crops more resilient to climate change, improving crop quality, safeguarding genetic diversity, capturing carbon, and advancing understanding of the wider interaction between agriculture and the environment.

Professor Donnison added: “We work closely with industry to tackle global challenges, engage with policymakers and the wider agricultural community to better understand the critical issues and then work collectively to find solutions and apply our bioscience to help build a better tomorrow.”

Find out more

• IBERS website
• Professor Iain Donnison’s Research Profile

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