Carbon Capture And Removal

🚨 Less than 16% of carbon credits actually reduce emissions 🚨 A groundbreaking study in Nature Communications analyzed 2,346 carbon credit projects—accounting for nearly 1 billion tons of CO₂ (19% of all issued credits)—and found shocking results. Most credits don’t deliver on their promises: 🔍 Key findings: • Wind power projects in China and improved forest management in the US: No measurable emission reductions. • Avoided deforestation: 25% offset achievement ratio (OAR) • SF6 destruction: 16% OAR - SF6: Sulfur hexafluoride projects capture and destroy this potent greenhouse gas or reduce emissions through leak prevention and replacements. However, they often over-credit emissions reductions due to incentives to increase waste gas production. • Best performing category, HFC-23 abatement: 68% OAR - HFC-23: Hydrofluorocarbon-23 projects destroy a by-product of industrial processes with very high global warming potential. Despite being more effective, they sometimes encourage excess waste gas production for credits. The authors call out critical flaws in the system: “Many project developers pick favorable data or make unrealistic assumptions. Outdated methodologies and perverse incentives lead to non-additional projects being registered.” 🌍 This is a wake-up call: Carbon crediting systems need urgent reform to avoid greenwashing and address adverse selection problems. 📖 Full study (open access): https://lnkd.in/dVU9eq7Q

This week, the International Energy Agency (IEA) launched a major report on #CCUS policies and business models. It's the most comprehensive piece I've seen so far, and I'm glad to have contributed as one of the reviewers. The report provides a detailed overview of what exists in the policy landscape and what is missing. I warmly recommend to have a look. Some general messages: • CCUS is expected to contribute 8% of emission reductions by 2050 + #carbonremoval from the application of CCUS technologies • More than 400 projects have been announced across the value chain over the last three years, but the deployment has remained relatively flat. The long lead times (median around six years) must be urgently reduced. • The current project pipeline would only deliver a third of what's needed globally by 2030. The policymakers need to create the conditions for the industry to make the projects happen. • New part-chain business models are emerging where separate entities specialise in different parts of the CCUS value chain. • The oil and gas sector continues to play a role, and new specialised players are entering the market. These are chemical and engineering companies providing CO2 capture solutions and infrastructure, shipping companies expanding their portfolio, and new companies focusing exclusively on CCUS. • As a result, old and new players are now establishing joint ventures in a CCUS hub configuration. • New business models also create new project complexities. There is a greater need for coordination across the value chain, mitigation of counter-party risks, allocation of long-term liability, and management of shared, cross-border CO2 transport and storage infrastructure. • Governments can support the deployment of these new models and step in where challenges remain. This, of course, requires the governments to understand better the way the CCUS project development landscape is progressing. Last but not least, a visual that compares the CCS cost and the EU carbon price. There's that evergreen question of what the carbon price should be to incentivise CCS. The right answer is that a strong carbon price is only one of many elements needed. And it's barely touching the CCS applications from diluted CO2 streams today, as seen below. Link to the report in the comments.

New chapter in the Biochar permanence debate, pushing back on the inertinite message: "Biochar persistence should be defined over centuries, rather than thousands to millions of years." The author list is essentially a who's who of the top biochar researchers. Still pointing to biochar being highly permanent, but that: "Biochars and inertinite-ranked fossil coals cannot be equated.[...]" "No carbonaceous material is completely inert. Field and laboratory studies consistently show measurable, though small, mineralization across a wide range of biochar types. Declaring that soil-applied biochar carbon persists at 100% over millennia is inconsistent with current scientific understanding." It doesn't change much in practice, biochar is very durable in any case, but it is prudent to discount when issuing credits. Link: https://lnkd.in/gR73-ksK

The new IETA handbook is out and it covers 30+ methodologies in one place. What is included in the handbook? → 30+ methodologies included in the new handbook. → Drawn from 13 standard-setting organisations. → Engineered removals projected to supply up to 70% of global carbon credits by 2050, up from near zero today. The big shift is happening now. In 2023, voluntary carbon market volume reached $2 billion USD. High-integrity credits are expected to get a premium of 35-60% over basic offsets by 2024 (Ecosystem Marketplace). Article 6 credits could increase market demand by up to 1.5 gigatons CO₂ annually (The World Bank, 2023). Three reasons the IETA handbook is a game changer: 1. Consolidation: Instead of 13 different protocols, the handbook allows companies to compare and select standards with mapped technical scope and risk management. 2. Regulatory alignment: It reviews legal safeguards, MRV, and accounting boundaries-helping buyers stay compliant with EU, UK, California, and Paris Agreement Article 6. 3. Market trust: Standardised approaches and liability rules reduce the uncertainty that has held back institutional investors and boards. What does this mean for business leaders? → The era of fragmented standards is closing fast. → By 2050, engineered removals will shape the majority of global supply. → Robust compliance and Article 6 alignment will be non-negotiable for credible climate action. My takeaway: →Boards and management must prepare for new rules, premium pricing, and stricter verification. →Integrate engineered removals into market and trading systems now to stay ahead. #carbonmarkets #ieta #engineeredremovals #carboncredits #climateaction

Leveraging GHG data and analytics to accelerate business transformation 🌎 As regulations tighten and the demand for transparency grows, businesses face increasing pressure to adopt robust greenhouse gas (GHG) data and analytics systems. Establishing a structured framework for emissions measurement and analysis is critical for compliance, but its benefits extend far beyond regulatory requirements. A comprehensive GHG data architecture enables businesses to measure, manage, and act on emissions across the full value chain, paving the way for meaningful transformation. To meet both current and future expectations, organizations must focus on measuring emissions across Scopes 1, 2, and 3. Addressing direct emissions (Scope 1), energy-related emissions (Scope 2), and value chain emissions (Scope 3) ensures a complete understanding of an organization’s carbon footprint. Scope 3, in particular, represents the largest and most complex challenge, but it also holds the greatest opportunity for reducing environmental impact and driving systemic change across supply chains. With precise data on emissions across all scopes, businesses can move beyond compliance to actionable insights. By identifying carbon hotspots and setting reduction targets, organizations can optimize processes such as energy efficiency, supply chain sourcing, and logistics management. These actions help integrate sustainability into business operations while delivering cost efficiencies and improving resilience. A robust GHG data and analytics system also facilitates full-value chain transformation. Leveraging technologies like machine learning, scenario modeling, and ecosystem data exchanges enables businesses to plan for long-term carbon reduction strategies and innovate low-carbon products. Addressing emissions holistically across Scopes 1, 2, and 3 ensures alignment with global climate goals while creating competitive advantages in sustainable markets. Measuring and acting on emissions across the entire value chain is no longer optional. Businesses equipped with accurate data and advanced analytics capabilities can meet regulatory demands, reduce emissions at scale, and drive meaningful progress toward a low-carbon economy. Source: Gartner #sustainability #sustainable #business #esg #climatechange #GHG

Norway is proving that carbon removal can be real, permanent, and scalable. A Norwegian research team has developed an advanced direct air capture (DAC) system that pulls CO₂ straight from the atmosphere and converts it into solid carbonate rock—locking carbon away for thousands of years. One facility can remove emissions equivalent to 40,000 trees, without relying on land or forests. Here’s how it works: air passes through chemical filters that bind with CO₂. The captured gas is then released, combined with minerals like olivine, and rapidly mineralized—mimicking natural rock weathering that normally takes millions of years. The entire process runs on renewable energy. Norway aims to remove 10 million tons of CO₂ annually by 2030—comparable to taking 2 million cars off the road. Unlike tree planting, which can re-release carbon, this method stores it permanently. The byproduct is even used as construction material, creating a circular economy. At ~$100 per ton (and falling), companies like Microsoft are already investing. A bold question remains: Can we engineer our way out of the crisis we engineered ourselves into? Source: Norwegian Institute for Energy Technology #CarbonCapture #DirectAirCapture #ClimateTech #NetZero #CleanEnergy #NorwayInnovation #CircularEconomy #ClimateAction #SustainableFuture

🤔 Why are Japanese companies considering developing their own carbon removal projects? 🇯🇵 Japanese shipping giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) and The Kansai Electric Power co., inc. (KEPCO / 関電) recently signed an MOU to explore carbon removal credit projects. What You Need to Know: 🚢 MOL & ⚡KEPCO will research the feasibility and economics of carbon removal projects in Africa, Southeast Asia, and beyond. 🔍 Scope of the MOU: 📌 Develop carbon removal credit projects 📌 Assess feasibility & economic viability 📌 Evaluate project developers & operators 📌 Participate in project development 📌 Consider off-take agreements for credits CDR methods under consideration: 🌱 Afforestation & reforestation 🌊 Blue carbon 🌾 Soil carbon projects 🪵 Biochar 🎛️ CCS-based removals Why This Matters While KEPCO is relatively new to carbon removal, MOL has been actively engaged in CDR for years. ✅ MOL was the first Japanese company to join the First Movers Coalition (CDR sector)—a global initiative launched by the World Economic Forum. ✅ MOL is a founding buyer of The NextGen CDR facility, committing to purchase at least 50,000 tonnes of verified CDR by 2030. ✅ In its “MOL Group Environmental Vision 2.2” report, the company set an interim milestone of removing 2.2 million tonnes of CO₂ by 2030. 😲 What’s most interesting? MOL frames its carbon removal engagement plans as “beyond value chain mitigation” (BVCM) rather than neutralizing its own emissions. In other words, MOL sees its current CDR investments as a contribution to broader climate action, not as offsets. ❓ Now, why are Japanese companies looking at credit generation as part of their business? 👀 A key insight from the GX-League's carbon credit working group report which highlights a knowledge gap between credit sellers and buyers and suggests: 💡To mitigate risk, Japanese companies may shift into project development—either through long-term off-take agreements or direct project investments—to gain better control over credit integrity, pricing, and long-term supply. 💡Another key factor lies in the GX-League’s GX-ETS framework for overseas carbon credit use, making passive credit purchasing less viable and incentivizes companies to take an active role in project development. ⭐ If KEPCO & MOL join forces, they could play a critical role in scaling CDR. 🚢 MOL brings CDR purchasing experience, ⚡ KEPCO brings utility-scale project development expertise, among many things! They could bridge the gap between financing, development, and implementation of building high-integrity, scalable CDR projects.  🚀 I know this is an MOU, but I certainly am looking forward to seeing how this partnership unfolds, and hopefully actual projects being stood up. 🙂 What do you think? Will more companies follow this model? What impact will this have on the global CDR market? 👇 As always, see relevant links in the comment below. #CarbonRemoval #カーボンクレジット #炭素除去 #碳移除

You think Silicon Valley is the future of climate tech? You couldn’t be more wrong... The most meaningful progress is happening far from the venture bubble, in small labs, research stations, and community workshops where the focus is on solving practical problems rather than chasing scale. 2025 has been a record year for climate tech investment. But the real story isn’t how much money is being raised. It’s what that money is building. The direction of innovation is shifting toward systems that are modular, verifiable, and built for real-world conditions. These technologies can be deployed quickly, maintained locally, and adapted to places that can’t wait for large infrastructure to arrive. 🌱 Releaf Earth (YC 2025) converts food waste into biochar that restores soil, locks carbon, and produces renewable power for local microgrids. Their portable reactors make it possible for small communities to build their own carbon markets. Biochar now accounts for more than 90 percent of all durable carbon removals delivered globally, showing how central this technology has become to practical decarbonization. 🌱 Modular Green Hydrogen startups in programs such as RMI’s accelerator are proving that hydrogen production doesn’t have to rely on billion-dollar plants. Their systems use renewables and recycled water to power rural transport and small industries, aligning closely with the U.S. 45Q incentive for low-carbon hydrogen. 🌱 Recyclable wind turbines built from bio-resins and nanocellulose are beginning to close the loop on renewable energy. They address a long-standing issue in the sector, how to manage the waste created when turbine blades reach the end of their life. 🌱 Bamboo-based cooling panels, now emerging from university and startup labs, use natural condensation to lower indoor temperatures without electricity. Early trials in Asia and Africa suggest they could offer low-cost cooling in regions already struggling with extreme heat and limited access to power. 🌱 AI and satellite mapping tools from companies such as Astraea are providing live, high-resolution data on climate risks. What used to take months of modeling can now be updated continuously, helping governments, insurers, and local planners make faster, better decisions. These examples point to a wider shift. Climate technology is no longer defined by size or spectacle. It is defined by systems that are reliable, measurable, and designed for real contexts. Policies like the European Union’s Carbon Removal Certification Framework are reinforcing this trend, directing investment toward solutions that can demonstrate genuine and lasting impact. The next phase of climate innovation will not be driven by how much it raises or how fast it scales. It will be judged by how well it works, consistently, locally, and over time.

A new report from the U.S. DoE offers the helpful analysis of the global Direct Air Capture landscape. With climate targets looming, DAC is no longer a theoretical solution - it’s becoming a critical tool for net-zero strategies. Here are 7 key takeaways for industry leaders, investors, and researchers: 1. Three distinct DAC pathways are emerging: - CO₂-concentrating DAC: Captures and delivers a concentrated CO₂ stream (used by 121 companies). - Reactive DAC: Integrates capture and conversion into fuels or materials (13 companies). - Direct Storage DAC: Captures CO₂ and stores it in solid form without regenerable media (8 companies). 2. The ecosystem is growing (but consolidation has started): - 142 incorporated companies are active globally, with the majority headquartered in North America and Western Europe. - M&A activity is picking up (e.g. Occidental–Carbon Engineering, Climeworks–Antecy). 3. Solid sorbents are most popular choice - Two-thirds of companies use solid capture materials. - Electrochemical and membrane approaches are gaining momentum, especially where integration with low-carbon energy is feasible. 4. Scale up is needed - Current global DAC capacity is ~20,000 tCO₂/year. - The DAC capacity needed would be between 100 Mt–2 Gt per year by 2050. - This implies >10,000x scale-up in 25 years. 5. Diverse technologies offer flexibility and risk mitigation - From passive systems to cryogenic capture, diversity in design enables deployment across geographies and sectors. - This technical plurality is essential for climate resilience and policy optionality. What do you think the future of DAC is? #CarbonRemoval #DirectAirCapture #ClimateTech #NetZero #CarbonManagement #CDR #EnergyTransition #Innovation #Research #Sustainability #Cleantech

These founders turn CO₂ from the air into jet fuel✈️ (And raised $173M to scale it globally) When chemist Staff Sheehan and entrepreneur Gregory Constantine met in New York, they saw opportunity in our biggest crisis… Our carbon problem is worse than you think: ↳ CO₂ levels hit 427 ppm (highest in 800,000+ years) ↳ Aviation alone accounts for 2.5% of global emissions ↳ Traditional fuel production creates massive carbon footprints ↳ Most solutions address symptoms, not the CO₂ itself That's when they created something revolutionary. What if we could transform excess CO₂ into valuable products? AIRCO was born. Their breakthrough? AIRMADE™ technology that: ↳ Converts captured CO₂ and green hydrogen into liquid fuels ↳ Creates sustainable aviation fuel with 97% lower carbon intensity ↳ Removes 1.5kg of CO₂ per kg of ethanol produced ↳ Uses 99% less water than corn-based alternatives ↳ Requires only waste CO₂, hydrogen, and electricity The impact? Already disrupting multiple industries: ↳ First product (carbon-negative vodka) named a TIME Best Invention ↳ Partnering with major aviation companies for sustainable jet fuel ↳ Scaling production for diesel, gasoline and other essential chemicals ↳ Creating a resilient supply chain immune to traditional disruptions And they're just getting started: ↳ Targeting 10.8% reduction in global CO₂ emissions by 2050 ↳ Expanding into the rapidly growing carbon capture utilization market Sometimes the solution to pollution is in the air we breathe 🌎🧪 - If this sounds interesting👇 🗞️Grab my 5 min newsletter about them: https://lnkd.in/eTuVKRA5