Why focus on the cost of MRV? Although research on key themes relating to the governance of CDR include discussions on the role and importance of MRV, the costs arising from the development and implementation of MRV systems for CDR only receive a cursory discussion in the literature and in policy discussion. [...] The analysis shown in Figure S3 indicates a mild causal relationship between the size of the discount factor and the cost of the MRV process. [...] This report examines the cost of MRV for different CDR methods, the extent to which the cost of MRV for different methods is perceived as a barrier to their upscaling, where opportunities lie to reduce the cost of MRV and what factors influence the choice of MRV protocol. [...] Aims of this research Using survey data and expert insights from CDR companies, the quantitative and qualitative analysis presented in this report examines the cost of MRV for different CDR methods, the extent to which companies using different methods perceive the cost of MRV as a barrier to upscaling, where opportunities lie to reduce MRV cost and what factors influence the choice of MRV protoco. [...] Without the ability to independently verify the legitimacy or operational status of the responding companies, the survey was reliant on the accuracy of the self-reported costs, with no option to test the veracity.
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- Pages
- 50
- Published in
- United Kingdom
Table of Contents
- Summary 4 3
- 1. Introduction 13 3
- 2. Methodological approach 19 3
- 3. Results 20 3
- 4. Discussion and recommendations 37 3
- 5. Conclusion 44 3
- Appendix: absolute and relative costs of MRV, 2022–2024 45 3
- References 49 3
- Summary 4
- Accelerating carbon dioxide removal 5
- The importance of MRV for CDR 6
- Why focus on the cost of MRV? 6
- How much does MRV cost? 6
- Is MRV cost a barrier to scaling up CDR? 9
- What is the relationship between MRV certainty and cost? 10
- Barriers to reducing MRV costs are predominantly a policy challenge 11
- Key innovations to reduce MRV cost 11
- Getting comfortable with uncertainty 11
- Factors influencing approaches to MRV 12
- Informing wider cost assumptions 12
- 1. Introduction 13
- How much carbon dioxide removal is necessary? 13
- The role of monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) 13
- The importance of MRV costs 16
- Relevance to policymakers 16
- Balancing cost and accuracy 17
- What this report adds to the literature and CDR policy development 17
- Aims of this research 18
- 2. Methodological approach 19
- Overview 19
- Dissemination and response rate 19
- Limitations 19
- 3. Results 20
- Quantitative results 20
- Characteristics of respondents 20
- Cost of MRV 22
- How have costs evolved between 2022 and 2024? 25
- Spread of MRV costs 25
- Cost of MRV as a barrier to growth 26
- Ranking of barriers 27
- Self-reported MRV certainty thresholds 31
- Qualitative results 32
- Protocols 32
- MRV costs 35
- 4. Discussion and recommendations 37
- Is the cost of MRV a pervasive barrier to scaling up CDR? 37
- Treating barriers to reducing MRV costs as a policy challenge 38
- Key innovations to reduce MRV cost 39
- Getting comfortable with uncertainty 40
- Factors influencing the approach to MRV 42
- Informing assumptions for equivalence ratios 42
- 5. Conclusion 44
- Appendix: absolute and relative costs of MRV, 2022–2024 45
- 1. Absolute MRV costs over time from the two datasets: Grantham Research Institute (GRI) and Frontier (£ per tonne of carbon) 45
- 2. Relative MRV costs over time from the two datasets: Grantham Research Institute (GRI) and Frontier (% of total cost) 47
- References 49
