To reach the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, future energy use scenarios are increasingly reliant on negative emission technologies. Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage has been acknowledged as an important possible pathway to generate negative emissions. Held on June 8 and 9, 2021, the MIT Energy Initiative's 2021 Spring Symposium - BECCS: Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage - brought together panelists with a variety of expertise on BECCS to explore the contributions it could make in decarbonizing the world’s economies and the challenges it faces. Topics included the economics of BECCS deployment in a 1.5 C or 2 C world, the life cycle emissions of the supply chain, and implications for scaling, especially as it relates to land use and food supplies. 

MIT Joint Program researchers serving as presenters or moderators included Jennifer Morris, Angelo Gurgel, Sergey Paltsev and John Reilly. Joint Program collaborators included Howard Herzog and Jerry Melillo.

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View the full agenda and speaker biographies on the Spring Symposium website.