U.S. Government Announces Carbon Removal Purchase Pilot Awardees & Principles for High-Integrity Carbon Markets: Statement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 28, 2024
U.S. Government Announces Awardees for Phase I Carbon Removal Purchase Pilot & Principles for High-Integrity Voluntary Carbon Markets: Carbon Business Council Statement
The U.S. Department of Energy announced the 24 semifinalists 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 (CO2BC), a nonprofit trade association of more than 100 carbon management companies, has issued the following statement in response. The statement can be attributed to Ben Rubin, Executive Director, Carbon Business Council.
“The Carbon Business Council applauds the Department of Energy and the all first phase awardees of the carbon removal purchase pilot prize. We commend the Department of Energy for taking a tech-neutral approach with the prize and supporting a range of carbon removal pathways. Everyone’s a winner in demand-side support policies to scale carbon removal, reflected in the catalytic impacts that come from the public procurement of removals and the principles for high-integrity carbon markets. We’re thrilled to see ongoing leadership from the U.S. government to reduce and remove emissions.”
The Department of Energy will award up to $35 million through the Purchase Prize, and was recently awarded additional funding from Congress to continue the competition. In March, the Department of Energy released a Notice of Intent to amplify the impact of the program by calling on external organizations to join the department in purchasing high-quality carbon dioxide removal credits.
Today’s procurement news is paired with an announcement from the federal government about principles for high-integrity voluntary carbon markets. The seven principles include that, “carbon credits and the activities that generate them should meet credible atmospheric integrity standards and represent real decarbonization.”
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Carbon Business Council (CO2BC), a member-driven and tech-neutral trade association of companies unified to restore the climate, is the preeminent industry voice for carbon management innovators. Together, the nonprofit coalition represents more than 100 companies across six continents with more than $16.5 billion in combined assets.
