A high-grade version of BBQ charcoal is being tested as a way of removing greenhouse gas from the atmosphere for centuries to come.
The charred wood, called biochar, has been spread over farmland in one of the first large-scale trials of its kind, in the hope carbon captured by trees from the air during their lifetime can be buried in the soil. Trial lead Tom Bott, from the University of Nottingham, told Sky News the technique could help the country reach"Then if we add it to the land, we potentially get some benefits to our crops, and we're also sequestering carbon that's important for helping to combat climate change."But by heating it to temperatures as high as 600C in an oven purged of oxygen, the carbon undergoes a chemical change that locks it up as biochar - often referred to as"black gold".