Issue Briefs: Policies to Unlock Gigaton Scale Carbon Removal
The Carbon Business Council recently published a series of issue briefs on essential topics to unlock gigaton scale carbon removal. Each of the following briefs presents a unique and important opportunity to responsibly scale carbon removal. The briefs were developed by working groups of leading carbon removal companies and experts. Thank you to Toby Bryce, who served as a lead author on each of the briefs, and to Grant Faber who joined as a co-author on the MRV brief. Questions or comments? Let us know at info@carbonbusinesscouncil.org. We invite you to subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest.
Defining Carbon Removal for Policy Issue Brief
The science is clear that 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. However, U.S. CDR policy to date has not included all carbon removal pathways. The issue brief explains why the Carbon Business Council strongly favors embracing a clear and consistent definition of CDR for policy that is method-neutral, criteria-based, and IPCC-aligned in order to support the portfolio of CDR approaches that the world will need to meet our climate goals.
Monitoring Reporting and Verification Issue Brief
Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (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. The Carbon Business Council explains why we’re joining the sector-wide call for clear, high-quality, and independent (MRV) standards for CDR. The brief underscores that high-quality MRV is essential for the CDR sector to build the trust necessary to scale deployment. In a signal of the importance of this topic, the Energy Department announced $15 million in funding for four national labs to advance MRV.
U.S. Farm Bill & Carbon Removal Issue Brief
The Farm Bill has been identified as one of Congress’s “biggest climate fights” in 2023. It 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.
