Incorporating negative emissions technologies with policy instruments for net-zero emissions

The ongoing climate crisis requires the reduction and removal of carbon to avoid global catastrophic consequences to the environment. As such, efforts presently focus on understanding the impact of negative emissions technologies in actively removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. While these emerging technologies bring a distinctive set of feasibility challenges, their integration into existing systems is essential due to the inability of decarbonization strategies to solely mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. The objective of this work is to develop strategies for integrating negative emissions technologies with carbon capture utilization and storage options, spurred by the increasing relevance of circular economies. The multi-period resource integration approach will determine the optimal technology portfolios best suited to a specific industrial landscape to achieve net-zero emissions in the presence of environmental policy instruments across time. The analysis will provide decision makers with a preliminary understanding of the viability of these technologies and the progress needed in regulatory frameworks to enable their effective implementation. The applicability of the proposed approach is demonstrated through the deployment of negative emissions technologies, such as bioenergy carbon capture and storage, direct air carbon capture and storage, enhanced weathering of minerals, and utilization of biochar, in an oil and gas based industrial setting. The optimal strategies determined indicate that carbon caps and taxes are fundamental in reducing the creation of emissions, while carbon credits encourage the active removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.