‘Carbon take-back obligation’ could shape affordable, simple and rapid climate action

New research from the universities of Oxford and Edinburgh demonstrates an affordable and rapid method to prevent fossil fuels from causing global warming. According to the paper, a carbon take-back obligation would require extractors and importers of fossil fuels to dispose, safely and permanently, of a progressively rising fraction of the CO₂ generated by their activities and the products they sell, rising to 100% by the net zero target year of 2050.

The study, published in the magazine Joule, explores the economic implications of imposing a carbon take-back obligation on the global fossil fuel industry. The paper shows such a measure provides an affordable and low-risk route to net zero emissions, particularly if complemented by conventional measures to reduce near-term fossil fuel demand.

‘Despite the perceived high cost of CO₂ capture and storage, we show that the cost to the world economy of a carbon take-back obligation, even if entirely passed on to fossil fuel consumers, is no higher (and usually less than) than the cost of mitigation in conventional scenarios meeting similar goals driven by a global carbon price,’ explains Stuart Jenkins, lead author of the study.

Professor Stuart Haszeldine, of the University of Edinburgh, a co-author, adds: ‘Here is a radical solution – to make hydrocarbon companies do the work to dispose of their waste CO₂ – which is simple to operate and can be rapidly put in place. The mechanism is fairer and less costly than current proposals for carbon taxes or paying for ETS [emissions trading system] certificates to carry on polluting. It will also support a just transition to a more sustainable future. This guarantees that 2050 targets will be met, a requirement of the Paris Agreement, and also means no public subsidy is required.’