PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Clim.
Sec. Carbon Dioxide Removal
Responsible research and innovation of carbon removal in the UK: strategies for field trials
Provisionally accepted
Laurie Waller1*
Emily Cox2Amy Binner3Tatiana Cantillo Garcia3Rosie Everett4
Karen Henwood5
Julie Ingram6Carol Morris7
Kate O'Sullivan5
Nick Pidgeon5
Catherine Price7Mark Reed4Alessandro Silvestri3
Rob Bellamy1- 1The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
- 2University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- 3University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
- 4Scotland's Rural College, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- 5Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
- 6University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, United Kingdom
- 7University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
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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 UK-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.
Keywords: biochar, Peatland restoration, Perennial biomass crops, enhanced weathering, tree planting
Received: 02 Jul 2025; Accepted: 10 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Waller, Cox, Binner, Cantillo Garcia, Everett, Henwood, Ingram, Morris, O'Sullivan, Pidgeon, Price, Reed, Silvestri and Bellamy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Laurie Waller, laurie.waller@manchester.ac.uk
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.