Risk-Based Regulation of Biochar for Durable Carbon Removal and Soil Amendment in Agriculture and other Land-Use

Creating a proto-standard for the emerging sector in Scotland

SAGES are offering a unique opportunity for a short-term policy placement with the SEFARI Gateway team. The Gateway team is the main portal between the Scottish Government funded research programmes within the Scottish research institutes working on environment, food and agriculture, and the various policy customers, including notably the Scottish Government (SG).

Given SG’s commitments to Net Zero by 2045 and its ambitions regarding environment, agriculture, land-use, soils, biochar is an increasingly relevant technology. There are
potential hazards associated with biochar production, transport and use in soils or as a constituent of aggregates for land application. Risk assessment is required to ensure that potential hazards are recognised and processes managed to mitigate against them, drawing upon state-of-the-art thinking in environmental risk and regulation. An earlier attempt to do this was started 10 years ago, culminating in the Biochar Quality Mandate (BQM 1). Given rapid advances in the science and technology, together with growing industrial interest, an updated version of the BQM is required. This will require substantial re-writing of key sections along with inclusion of new sections and consultation with a range of UK-based experts across the supply-chain. The placement will work with the principals in the review and rewriting process as well as driving the dialogue with
key experts.

Deadline: 17:00 Friday 27 May 2022

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