New report analyses UK legal landscape for greenhouse gas removals
Thu 2 October 2025
A new report by researchers at Edinburgh Law School offers the first comprehensive review of the complex legal frameworks governing greenhouse gas removal (GGR) technologies across the UK. The report was launched at the Royal Institution on 30 September 2025.
Co-authored by Navraj Singh Ghaleigh and Marsaili Van Looy, the report was produced as part of the UKRI-funded CO₂RE Hub, the national research hub on GGR. It is based on interviews with 31 stakeholders across government, industry and academia.
GGRs, such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), direct air capture (DACCS), afforestation, and enhanced rock weathering, are expected to play a key role in achieving the UK’s net zero targets. Yet the report finds that these techniques operate in a fragmented regulatory environment, governed by a patchwork of planning, permitting, land, and waste laws.
The authors identify a central “regulatory paradox”: regulators require evidence to update frameworks, but innovators struggle to produce this evidence without clear rules and support. This paradox, they argue, risks stalling progress at a time when the scaling of GGRs is becoming increasingly urgent.
The report also highlights jurisdictional variation across the UK, with devolved nations approaching regulation, funding and environmental mandates in different ways. Interviewees across sectors consistently called for clearer legal pathways, coordinated regulation, and better resourcing for regulators.
Mr Ghaleigh said: “As GGR move from laboratory to market place, regulators and industry are discovering the centrality of law to the scaling of the sector. Our report is a first-of-a-kind analysis, based on detailed engagement with market actors and government. We map out the UK’s regulatory landscape, identifying barriers and gaps, and proposing future pathways. The future of GGR depends as much on law and regulation as technological solutions.”
Read the full report