RELEASE: Carbon Removals at COP
COP28 has resulted in a Global Stocktake that signals that the world should replace fossil fuels with clean energy by 2050 for global net zero. While there were hopes for greater clarity and more ambition, COP28 did see significant steps forward for climate action, including a pledge from more than 100 countries to triple the world’s renewable energy capacity by 2030 and mobilizing more than $57 billion in climate capital.
Carbon Business Council Announces COP28 Plans
The Carbon Business Council (CO2BC) is thrilled to be participating in COP28. Our team will be elevating the important role that innovators play in reaching gigaton scale carbon removal and the importance of removals working in tandem with mitigation. Below, we summarize the highlights, events our coalition is participating in, and key carbon removal themes to keep an eye on during the international climate negotiations.
WHITE PAPER: Digital Infrastructure for Carbon Removal
The Carbon Business Council published a white paper about Digital Infrastructure for Carbon Removal. Developed by a working group of Carbon Business Council members and affiliates and published with generous support from the Climate Collective, the white paper outlines key challenges the carbon removal sector faces; identifies opportunities where digital infrastructure can offer solutions to help address these challenges; and puts forth a set of focused recommendations for the carbon removal sector on the adoption of digital technologies.
RELEASE: CDR RDT Initiative Provides Foundational Resources for Responsible Deployment
The Carbon Business Council (CO2BC), a nonprofit trade association of more than 100 carbon removal and management companies, released the Carbon Dioxide Removal Responsible Deployment Training (CDR RDT) today, an interactive online training and suite of resources to support project developers with the responsible deployment of carbon removal. XPRIZE Carbon Removal is requiring a certificate of completion of the foundational online training for companies competing for the remaining $80 million in funding as part of the landmark competition to accelerate gigatonne-scale carbon removal innovation.
REPORT: Accelerating the Carbon Removal Market Through Responsible Corporate Leadership
This Carbon Removal Market Insights Report provides a playbook for business leaders who are interested in evaluating and purchasing carbon removals to achieve their climate goals and reduce climate-harmful emissions. It also aims to provide a better understanding of what carbon removal is and of the industry as a whole. It is co-authored by the BMW Foundation and Carbon Business Council.
Member Spotlight: Scaling Global Carbon Removals with BECCS
A guest member essay about scaling global carbon removals with BECCS, by Ross McKenzie, Group Corporate Affairs Director of Drax Group: “The climate crisis is coming at us full speed, and if we are to overcome it then we need to take action now. Reducing emissions continues to be crucial but it is no longer enough. We need to actively remove gigatons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it away permanently.”
Member Spotlight: Nori and the Blended Tonne Approach for Carbon Removal
Nori published a white paper about a “blended tonne” earlier this summer. We sat down with Radhika Moolgavkar at Nori to unpack what the blended tonne is all about and what’s ahead for Nori. Nori is a carbon removal marketplace and recently joined the Carbon Business Council as a Cornerstone member.
Member Spotlight: South Pole on Scaling the Removals Market
NextGen, South Pole, NextGen and Mitsubishi Corporation’s Joint Venture recently announced the purchase of more than 193,000 tons of carbon removal credits — one of the largest in carbon removal history. The Carbon Business Council team sat down with Philip Moss, Chairperson of NextGen and Global Director of Tech Carbon Removals at South Pole, to unpack this news and discuss the removals market.
Direct Air Capture Hubs & Major Carbon Removal Initiatives: Statement
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced new initiatives and funding to scale carbon removal this week. The funding includes $1.2 billion in awards for the Regional Direct Air Capture Hubs, focused on direct air capture (DAC) projects that have the potential to remove 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. The Carbon Business Council, a nonprofit coalition of more than 100 carbon management companies, has issued the following statement in response. The statement can be attributed to Ben Rubin, Executive Director.
RELEASE: Carbon Business Council Grows to 100+ Companies
The Carbon Business Council (CO2BC), a nonprofit trade association of companies and organizations unified to restore the climate, celebrates its one-year anniversary by growing the coalition to more than 110 companies and organizations. CO2BC’s membership base has combined assets of more than $16.5 billion dollars focused on scaling carbon management. “We launched the Carbon Business Council with the core belief that a rising tide can raise all ships as we work together to make a gigaton-scale climate impact,” said Ben Rubin, Executive Director and Co-Founder of CO2BC. “With a membership base that’s more than doubled since our inception and multiple proof points for successful collaboration, the Carbon Business Council is a platform to bring innovators together and unlock gigaton-scale solutions.”
Issue Briefs: Policies to Unlock Gigaton Scale Carbon Removal
The Carbon Business Council recently released a series of issue briefs on essential topics to unlock gigaton scale carbon removal. The briefs were developed by working groups of leading carbon removal companies and experts. Each of the following briefs presents a unique and important opportunity to responsibly scale carbon removal. We invite you to subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest. Questions or comments? Let us know at info@carbonbusinesscouncil.org.
Celebrating World Oceans Day: Diving Into Ocean-Based Carbon Removal
This year’s World Oceans Day presents an opportunity to reflect on the fact that we live on a blue planet, and the notion that perhaps it is there, within the Earth’s waters, where tremendous hope to scale carbon removal lies. Below we highlight quotes from innovators leading the way on ocean-based carbon dioxide removal, also referred to as marine carbon dioxide removal or “mCDR” for short. We invite you to read about how companies are approaching responsible research and field trials for carbon removal. Thanks to Brilliant Planet, Captura, Ebb Carbon, Oceanid MRV, Pull To Refresh, Seafields, Seaweed Generation, and Running Tide for sharing their stories on World Oceans Day. Happy World Oceans Day!
Monitoring, Reporting, & Verification: Issue Brief
The Carbon Business Council published an issue brief about Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification. The Carbon Business Council joins the sector-wide call for clear, high-quality, and independent monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) standards for carbon dioxide removal (CDR). MRV is the process of accounting for, communicating, and certifying a CDR project’s net carbon removal over time, including complete measurement of the project’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The full scope of MRV is a work in progress and is evolving to include a project’s non-GHG impacts on ecological and Earth systems. It has been said that MRV is the “product” delivered by CDR companies, and we agree.
Meeting the Goals of the Paris Agreement: Letter from 100+ Carbon Removal Experts
More than 100 carbon removal experts submitted a letter to the UNFCCC’s Article 6.4 Supervisory Body about how carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is an essential component for a just energy transition and to limit warming to 1.5 °C. Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement shapes the future of how global carbon markets operate. In response to proposed guidance from the Supervisory Body, the letter urges the UNFCCC to adopt the IPCC definition of CDR, and a method-neutral, criteria-based approach to determine CDR project’ eligibility under the Article 6.4 mechanism.
Defining Carbon Removal: Issue Brief
The Carbon Business Council has published an issue brief about Defining Carbon Removal. As the brief highlights, carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is an essential pillar of climate action, along with strong prioritization of steep emissions reductions and adaptation to our already rapidly changing climate. The issue brief explains how defining CDR inclusively can accelerate removals policy. It specifically calls for a clear and consistent definition of CDR for policy that is method-neutral, criteria-based, and IPCC-aligned to support the portfolio of CDR approaches that the world will need to meet our climate goals. Stay tuned for our next brief about Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification, which will be published soon.
Farm Bill & Carbon Removal: Policy Brief
The Carbon Business Council is pleased to share our policy brief on the 2023 US Farm Bill. The Farm Bill is critical omnibus legislation, updated every five years, that governs the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) administration of U.S. working lands, forests, and aquaculture. The Bill’s reauthorization is one of Congress’s most important tasks in 2023 and represents a tremendous bipartisan opportunity to enhance and expand public sector support for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and other carbon management pathways that can deliver great economic and agronomic benefits to America’s farmers, ranchers, foresters, and agricultural communities. The brief covers working lands and agriculture, working forests, aquaculture, and more.
UN Report Warns About A Climate Crossroads: Statement
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a Synthesis Report today, warning that the damages and risks of climate change will escalate rapidly if action is not taken. The Carbon Business Council, a nonprofit trade association of more than 80 member companies committed to responsibly restoring the climate, has issued the following statement in response. The statement can be attributed to Ben Rubin, Executive Director.
Open Letter: Twin Targets for Removals & Reductions
A group of carbon removal industry leaders released an open letter, calling on the Net Zero Asset Owners Alliance to affirm its support for the carbon removal technologies sector in the near-term as an essential tool in achieving net-zero by 2050 by publishing targets specifically for carbon removals, separate from existing carbon reduction targets, to be followed by Alliance members and investees. This is a cross-post from the open letter, originally published by Puro.earth.
What’s Ahead for Carbon Management: Blog
As we welcome 2023, the role of innovation will continue to be crucial in scaling carbon management solutions. Innovative companies, including the more than 75 members of the Carbon Business Council, are working on scalable solutions that can help bend the technology cost curve. We continue to see the importance of a level playing field in policy, to spur innovation across carbon management and avoid the risk of prematurely picking winners and losers. As we see more pilots and projects break ground this year, the responsible deployment projects will continue to be paramount.
Direct Air Capture Hubs Funding Announced: Statement
The Energy Department has released a funding opportunity announcement for Direct Air Capture Hubs, as part of a $3.5 billion federal initiative funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Carbon Business Council, a nonprofit trade association of more than 75 companies committed to the economic and responsible growth of the carbon management industry, has issued the following statement in response.