Modeling and Policy of Carbon Absorption Technologies – CAT
The aim of the project is to model technological options that remove CO2 from the atmosphere into the WITCH (World Induced Technical Change Hybrid) integrated assessment models.
The aim of the project is to model technological options that remove CO2 from the atmosphere into the WITCH (World Induced Technical Change Hybrid) integrated assessment models. Technologies to absorb emissions from the atmosphere and store them underground will be evaluated and modeled. Among the possible options, the project considers bio-energy coupled with carbon sequestration, and direct capture of CO2 via chemical absorbers. Both technologies have important indirect consequences, in terms of impact on land use and electricity generation respectively, that will need to be taken into proper account. Their successful deployment at large scale also rests on a wide range of uncertainties (costs, acceptability, large scale storage of carbon, innovation in land use management etc.), which will need to be evaluated and modeled under uncertainty. Furthermore, given their high initial costs, the innovation requirements for making such technologies economically viable will be assessed and introduced into the model via R&D processes.