Biochar as a sustainable strategy for greenhouse gas remediation and climate change mitigation

Abstract The continuous rise in global greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission over the past decade has created an urgent need for cost-effective and environmentally sustainable technologies to mitigate GHG emissions and enhance carbon sequestration. Biochar (BC), a renewable carbon-rich material produced through the pyrolysis of biomass has attracted increasing attention because of its superior physico-chemical characteristics like porous structure, large surface area as well as long-term carbon stability. These characteristics position BC as a promising tool for achieving net-zero emissions. This review critically examines BC application in GHGs mitigation, factors influencing BC effectiveness to combat GHG emissions, limitations and SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis are also discussed to stimulate investment in the BC industry, while supporting circular economy principles and sustainable carbon sequestration at a global scale. Overall, this review analyses BC as a scalable negative-emission technology with significant potential to support carbon reduction targets in alignment with the sustainable development goals. It has also been highlighted that BC exhibits significant potential for mitigating GHG emissions from soil. However, long-term studies are required to establish optimal BC application practices in agroecosystem. Furthermore, comprehensive research is needed to address existing knowledge gaps and to elucidate the long-term environmental impacts of BC. The international collaborations are also required to fully explore the potential of BC as a climate change mitigation strategy and its implementation at large scale for achieving the sustainable development goals.