Much has been written over the years about carbon capture and the role it can play in tackling climate change, what about carbon removal?
Carbon removal is the process of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and locking it away for decades, centuries, or even longer.
This can include a variety of techniques, including planting forests, spreading crushed rocks over land to absorb carbon in the atmosphere and creating charcoal and ploughing it into fields.
There is also a growing carbon removal credit market, but is the concept getting the attention it deserves?
Marta Krupinska, the co-founder and chief executive of carbon removal market maker, CUR8, said carbon removals are the “space race of the 21st century” in an interview.
Krupinska added while carbon removal credits are a new asset class and will play a key role in tackling climate change, there is still a lot of confusion around carbon markets, and the difference between removal and offsets.
And while carbon removals were not high on the agenda at the recent COP29 talks in Baku, there was an agreement on Article 6.4 – also known as the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism – which she said will “lay the groundwork” for more success around carbon removal at future COPs.
Krupinska said one of the biggest challenges in the sector going forward will be keeping up with demand.
She said there are estimated to be around 2,000 carbon removal projects around the world today, but by 2030 demand is expected to outstrip supply by a factor of at least two.
“And not all carbon credits are equal, making thorough due diligence and tailored high-quality carbon removal portfolios essential for businesses to reach net zero,” she told me.
“We ensure that every credit purchased genuinely means one tonne of carbon removed and securely stored.”
“When you think about carbon removal, there are a whole array of nature-based and human-engineered solutions, and we need the entire spectrum” said Krupinska.
“From afforestation and biochar to enhanced rock weathering and direct air capture, we need to invest in every pathway to tackle the challenge at scale.”
Krupinska was speaking as it was announced London Marathon Events (LME) has signed its third deal with CUR8.
As part of the deal, LME will purchase 1,935 tonnes of carbon removals from the global carbon removals market maker to support its progress to net zero.
Krupinska said it was the largest carbon removal portfolio purchase from a sports event and/or organization.
“The London Marathon is a really great example of how an organization can be committed to deliver on its mission, which is getting people to run, but also doing it in a way which will not have negative impacts on the planet,” she added.
The co-founder and chief executive of European carbon removal developer Arbonics, Kristjan Lepik, said it is important to talk more about carbon removal and the role it can play in tackling climate change in an interview.
Lepik adds while there are different ways to store carbon, but trees and forests are a proven “350-million-year-old technology”, which can be scaled to remove more carbon from the atmosphere.
He adds there is huge untapped potential in Europe for carbon removal by effectively managing forests.
“If you afforested just the abandoned land or land too poor for agriculture in Europe, you could remove 9.3 million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere every year,” said Lepik.
“We are just not using our land areas well to support the climate fight.”
Arbonics already has afforestation and improved forest management projects live in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Finland and plans to expand into Sweden, Poland, Austria, France, and the United Kingdom by 2025.
It has developed an advanced “digital twin’ technology”, which creates a precise digital representation of each plot of land.
Developed in collaboration with leading scientists, this system integrates over 50 data layers, allowing for comprehensive monitoring and reporting across a project’s lifecycle.
“Nature is absurdly logical,” he added. “We are trying to create data and scientific models for every acre of land, in order to decide what is the best use of that land and improve its carbon removal potential.”
