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When 195 nations adopted the Paris Agreement at COP21 in 2015 they agreed to pursue efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, the threshold above which scientists consider it will be much more difficult to adapt to the severe impacts of climate change. To stay within the 1.5°C limit, many nations and corporates have set a goal to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
However, there has been less focus on the fact that even if net zero is reached, this will not be enough. The carbon concentration in the atmosphere will need to be further reduced to near the pre-industrial level through net-negative emissions. In a new e-book Carbon Removals: Achieving a Net-Negative Economy, carbon removal platform Puro.earth explains how collective action, innovation, and commitment across the entire ecosystem to remove emissions is needed at the same time as the world works towards phasing out the use of fossil fuels.
Puro.earth said: “The year 2030 marks a critical milestone in our collective efforts to combat climate change and achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. As we approach this deadline, it is essential that we redouble our efforts and take bold, decisive action to mitigate the worst effects of climate change.”
Emission reductions and removals
The book explains that to achieve net zero emissions, fossil carbon activities need to be eliminated and in parallel, nature needs to be protected from destructive activities such as deforestation, which release carbon into the atmosphere but also lead to the loss of critical biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Paul Ferguson, CEO of Accend, which helps scale up the carbon removal industry, said in the book: “I disagree with people who say you should only be reducing emissions, that creates a false dichotomy, it’s not either/or, we need to do both [emission reductions and removals].”
Fredrik Ekström, President of Nasdaq Stockholm and Chairman of Puro.earth, agreed. He said in the book: “I think sometimes within this industry, too much time is spent on debating if you should reduce or remove emissions. We just have to do everything.”
There has been some criticism that carbon removal and other carbon credits provide a license to pollute. However, the book cited a recent report by Sylvera which found that companies purchasing carbon credits achieve a more significant reduction in their actual emissions than those that do not engage in offsetting or carbon removals.
Marianne Tikkanen, Co-founder and Head of Carbon Crediting at Puro.earth, said in the book that we should look at the relationship between emission reductions and carbon removals a bit differently. She added: “Carbon removal is not a ‘get out of jail’ card, it is a tool that motivates companies to explore the more economical emission reduction strategies that need to happen.”
Carbon standards
The book also cited a global survey of over 500 Chief Sustainability Officers which found that nearly half, over 40%, do not entirely trust carbon credits. Carbon credits are commodities that represent a unit of measurement of either avoided, reduced or removed CO2 or other greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere.
Companies that produce negative emissions can certify their carbon removals with carbon credits from carbon standards, like Puro.earth. Such credits can be sold and retired by companies that have residual emissions that need to be counterbalanced. Carbon finance from carbon credits enables various carbon removal activities, like biochar production, to receive payment for the carbon they remove, making them economically feasible.
Therefore, carbon standards based on high environmental integrity are key to building trust and need to maintain high-integrity certification practices. Tikkanen’s co-founder, Antti Vihavainen, said in the book that Puro.earth has taken the stance that carbon removal must be quantifiable, verifiable, scalable to industrial levels and durable to effectively deal with climate change.
Puro.earth is endorsed by the International Carbon Reduction and Offsetting Alliance providing quality assurance and guidance on emissions reductions and high-quality offsetting. The firm also supports the work of the Integrity Council for Voluntary Carbon Markets focusing on origination of the credits and the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative which is looking at the use of carbon credits.
“Both initiatives will be providing more information this year (2023), and we look forward to working with these rule setters and other initiatives as they emerge,” added Puro.earth. “Setting and enforcing definitive global standards will be fundamental in keeping standards honest and driving trustworthiness in the voluntary carbon market.”
Policy
Puro.earth also called on governments to set long-term plans with a clear role for durable carbon removals; develop the rules on what qualifies as durable carbon removal and consider the use of existing methodologies form carbon crediting programs; and to implement policies to support supply and demand and create the business case for investment.
Vihavainen said: “2023 is a pivotal year for carbon removal as many governments are moving to create policies to support the carbon removal sector. We need governments to put high-quality carbon removal in their long term plans and implement policies so that companies can invest in supply and buyers can buy with confidence.”
Nasdaq acquired a majority stake in Puro.earth in 2021. The platform has become the first carbon removal crediting program focused on durable carbon removal with storage time of minimum 100+ years and obtained endorsement by the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA).
Since the acquisition Puro.earth has developed networks though North America, Europe and Asia, and suppliers are covering new areas in Latin America and Africa, including a partnership with Singapore-based carbon exchange Climate Impact X (CIX) and Xpansiv, which operates the largest spot exchange for trading voluntary carbon credits and other environmental commodities.
The carbon removal industry has the potential to reach 10 gigatonnes of CO2 removal each year if all available drawdown pathways and carbon storages are deployed.
“Together with Nasdaq we will continue to play a vital role in scaling the markets to a point where supply will meet growing demand from climate-conscious corporations,” added Puro.earth. “We foresee a world in which any company can help mitigate the effects of climate change by removing hazardous emissions from the atmosphere, and we will continue to drive momentum until this dream becomes a reality.”
The e-book on carbon removals can be read here.
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