Responsible research and innovation of carbon removal: strategies for field trials

Waller, Laurie, Cox, Emily, Binner, Amy, Garcia, Tatiana Cantillo, Everett, Rosie, Henwood, Karen, Ingram, Julie ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0712-4789, Morris, Carol, O'Sullivan, Kate, Pidgeon, Nick, Price, Catherine, Reed, Mark, Silvestri, Alessandro and Bellamy, Rob (2025) Responsible research and innovation of carbon removal: strategies for field trials. Frontiers in Climate, 7. p. 1658453. doi:10.3389/fclim.2025.1658453

Preview

Text (Published version) 15649 Ingram (2025) Responsible research and innovation of carbon removal.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Download (243kB) | Preview

Abstract

Demonstrating methods for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is now a focus of research and development programmes designed to support decision making about future technology deployment. In this perspective piece, we outline some of the approaches to responsible research and innovation (RRI) being put to work in a United Kingdom-based programme organising field trials of various carbon removal methods. Unlike the disruptive technologies that predominate in RRI scholarship, many land-based methods for carbon removal have already been deployed, in some cases over many decades, with governance closely linked with longstanding fields of research and practice. We highlight why responsible innovation frameworks that developed in the context of geoengineering controversies may be only partially-suited to field trials of land-based carbon removal methods. We suggest that field trials of carbon removal methods are not simply evidentiary procedures but also strategic sites within an emerging innovation regime where RRI approaches can be both implemented and critically tested.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI); Carbon dioxide removal; Greenhouse gas removal; Field trials; Demonstrators
Subjects:	S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General) S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General) > S589.75 Agriculture and the environment
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > Countryside and Community Research Institute
Depositing User:	Nick Lewis
Date Deposited:	10 Dec 2025 12:04
Last Modified:	10 Dec 2025 12:15
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/15649

University Staff: Request a correction | Repository Editors: Update this record