Carbon removal has a new international standard ahead of COP29. The Article 6.4 Supervisory Body, part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, finalized requirements for activities involving carbon removal under the Article 6.4 Mechanism. The carbon removal definition used in the international standard aligns with the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) definition that the Carbon Business Council called for.

The Carbon Business Development Council and the Carbon Business Council (CO2BC) have released “Utilities and Carbon Removal: A Gigaton Scale Opportunity.” The report highlights how utilities can not only provide essential support for the carbon removal industry to grow, but also how removals offer substantial benefits to utilities, making them a smart investment. The report is made possible by support from Breakthrough Energy. 

The U.S. Department of Energy announced the awardees for the first phase of the Commercial Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) Purchase Pilot Prize today, marking an important initial milestone for the Department’s historic CDR procurement program. Earlier today, the U.S. federal government also released principles for high-integrity voluntary carbon markets. The Carbon Business Council, a nonprofit trade association of more than 100 carbon management companies, has issued the following statement in response.

The Carbon Herald, the leading independent media platform covering the global carbon management industry, announced plans today to combine forces with the Carbon Business Council (CO2BC), the carbon removal and management industry’s nonprofit trade association representing more than 100 companies across six continents with more than $16.5 billion dollars in combined assets. The strategic partnership equips the Carbon Herald with an expanded audience, access to market insights, and new platforms to amplify sponsorships. The Carbon Herald grew by more than 200% in 2023 and has an audience of more than 315,000 top-tier carbon management professionals.

The Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) is one of the few funding tools currently available to support the carbon removal sector. Governments around the world are working to create enabling policies for carbon removal to scale, and part of these policies focus on ensuring that carbon removal has efficacy and is working properly. Below, the Negative Emissions Platform and the Carbon Business Council summarize the latest developments in the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) on creating a robust removals market built upon trust.

Carbon removal took major steps forward in 2023, positioning 2024 to be another year of significant growth. Countries from around the world affirmed the need for carbon removal to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement at COP28. Key highlights from 2023 are summarized below in four categories and more growth in each of these areas is expected in 2024: 1) innovation from startups, 2) private sector investment, 3) enabling policies, and 4) responsible deployment. We dive into these pillars below with a lookback on 2023 and what’s ahead for 2024.

The Carbon Business Council’s summarizes our key highlights from 2023 and we look forward to building on this momentum as we head into 2024. Driven by our belief that a rising tide raises all ships as we work collaboratively to make a gigaton-scale climate impact, CO2BC grew to more than 100 companies this year. Our coalition is strengthened by more than 20 observing organizations, including leading nonprofits, investors, and more.

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. 

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.  

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.