RELEASE: Carbon Business Council Grows to 100+ Companies
The Carbon Business Council (CO2BC), a nonprofit trade association of companies and organizations unified to restore the climate, celebrates its one-year anniversary by growing the coalition to more than 110 companies and organizations. CO2BC’s membership base has combined assets of more than $16.5 billion dollars focused on scaling carbon management. “We launched the Carbon Business Council with the core belief that a rising tide can raise all ships as we work together to make a gigaton-scale climate impact,” said Ben Rubin, Executive Director and Co-Founder of CO2BC. “With a membership base that’s more than doubled since our inception and multiple proof points for successful collaboration, the Carbon Business Council is a platform to bring innovators together and unlock gigaton-scale solutions.”
Issue Briefs: Policies to Unlock Gigaton Scale Carbon Removal
The Carbon Business Council recently released a series of issue briefs on essential topics to unlock gigaton scale carbon removal. The briefs were developed by working groups of leading carbon removal companies and experts. Each of the following briefs presents a unique and important opportunity to responsibly scale carbon removal. We invite you to subscribe to our newsletter for all the latest. Questions or comments? Let us know at info@carbonbusinesscouncil.org.
Celebrating World Oceans Day: Diving Into Ocean-Based Carbon Removal
This year’s World Oceans Day presents an opportunity to reflect on the fact that we live on a blue planet, and the notion that perhaps it is there, within the Earth’s waters, where tremendous hope to scale carbon removal lies. Below we highlight quotes from innovators leading the way on ocean-based carbon dioxide removal, also referred to as marine carbon dioxide removal or “mCDR” for short. We invite you to read about how companies are approaching responsible research and field trials for carbon removal. Thanks to Brilliant Planet, Captura, Ebb Carbon, Oceanid MRV, Pull To Refresh, Seafields, Seaweed Generation, and Running Tide for sharing their stories on World Oceans Day. Happy World Oceans Day!
Monitoring, Reporting, & Verification: Issue Brief
The Carbon Business Council published an issue brief about Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification. The Carbon Business Council joins the sector-wide call for clear, high-quality, and independent monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) standards for carbon dioxide removal (CDR). 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.
Meeting the Goals of the Paris Agreement: Letter from 100+ Carbon Removal Experts
More than 100 carbon removal experts submitted a letter to the UNFCCC’s Article 6.4 Supervisory Body about how carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is an essential component for a just energy transition and to limit warming to 1.5 °C. Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement shapes the future of how global carbon markets operate. In response to proposed guidance from the Supervisory Body, the letter urges the UNFCCC to adopt the IPCC definition of CDR, and a method-neutral, criteria-based approach to determine CDR project’ eligibility under the Article 6.4 mechanism.
Defining Carbon Removal: Issue Brief
The Carbon Business Council has published an issue brief about Defining Carbon Removal. As the brief highlights, 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. The issue brief explains how defining CDR inclusively can accelerate removals policy. It specifically calls for a clear and consistent definition of CDR for policy that is method-neutral, criteria-based, and IPCC-aligned to support the portfolio of CDR approaches that the world will need to meet our climate goals. Stay tuned for our next brief about Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification, which will be published soon.
Farm Bill & Carbon Removal: Policy Brief
The Carbon Business Council is pleased to share our policy brief on the 2023 US Farm Bill. The Farm Bill 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. The brief covers working lands and agriculture, working forests, aquaculture, and more.
UN Report Warns About A Climate Crossroads: Statement
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a Synthesis Report today, warning that the damages and risks of climate change will escalate rapidly if action is not taken. The Carbon Business Council, a nonprofit trade association of more than 80 member companies committed to responsibly restoring the climate, has issued the following statement in response. The statement can be attributed to Ben Rubin, Executive Director.
Open Letter: Twin Targets for Removals & Reductions
A group of carbon removal industry leaders released an open letter, calling on the Net Zero Asset Owners Alliance to affirm its support for the carbon removal technologies sector in the near-term as an essential tool in achieving net-zero by 2050 by publishing targets specifically for carbon removals, separate from existing carbon reduction targets, to be followed by Alliance members and investees. This is a cross-post from the open letter, originally published by Puro.earth.
What’s Ahead for Carbon Management: Blog
As we welcome 2023, the role of innovation will continue to be crucial in scaling carbon management solutions. Innovative companies, including the more than 75 members of the Carbon Business Council, are working on scalable solutions that can help bend the technology cost curve. We continue to see the importance of a level playing field in policy, to spur innovation across carbon management and avoid the risk of prematurely picking winners and losers. As we see more pilots and projects break ground this year, the responsible deployment projects will continue to be paramount.
Direct Air Capture Hubs Funding Announced: Statement
The Energy Department has released a funding opportunity announcement for Direct Air Capture Hubs, as part of a $3.5 billion federal initiative funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Carbon Business Council, a nonprofit trade association of more than 75 companies committed to the economic and responsible growth of the carbon management industry, has issued the following statement in response.
Shaping Carbon Removal Policy: Blog
The Carbon Business Council and our 70+ member companies have been informing public policy by responding to a series of requests for information since our launch. From implementation of the 45Q tax credit to domestic and international oversight of voluntary carbon markets, our responses call for responsibly scaling carbon management solutions with a technology-neutral approach. As scientists from around the world continue to underscore the need for gigatons worth of carbon removal in their climate abatement scenarios, innovators will be key to scaling solutions. Our responses are focused on unleashing this innovation.
Grant Announcement: Press Release
The Carbon Development Council announced $100,000 in grant support from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) to advance the responsible deployment of carbon removal and to support innovators who are working to make gigaton-scale climate solutions a reality. The Carbon Development Council is a sister organization to the Carbon Business Council, a trade association with more than 70 member companies.
This is a cross-post and the original press release can be found on the Carbon Development Council website.
UN Gap Report Finds That World is Off Track to Hit Climate Goals: Statement
The UN Environment Programme published the annual Emissions Gap Report today, finding that the world is falling off track to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. “The Gap Report is a sobering wake-up call ahead of COP27 that more climate action is urgently needed to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Remaining on course requires keeping all climate solutions on the table, which are complementary and can work in tandem with one another,” said Executive Director Ben Rubin.
White Paper: Unlocking Carbon Dioxide Removal with Voluntary Carbon Markets
The Carbon Business Council, a trade association of more than 65 carbon management companies, has published a white paper on the intersection of voluntary carbon markets (VCMs) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR). The release comes as Climate Week kicks off where the Carbon Business Council is hosting an in-person panel discussion with authors from the white paper today, September 20. The white paper paper features recommendations for market regulators and existing market providers about how to grow VCMs, scale carbon removal, and provide a more diverse portfolio of climate solutions for purchasers.
Carbon Removal Takes Major Step Forward: Statement
President Biden has signed the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest investment in climate in U.S. history. The Carbon Business Council, a nonprofit trade association of 50 companies committed to the economic and responsible growth of carbon management, has issued the following statement in response to the IRA. The statement can be attributed to Ben Rubin, Executive Director.
Carbon Removal Gets $1 Billion Boost: Statement
President Biden has signed the CHIPS Act, a bipartisan bill that authorizes $1 billion in funding for the Energy Department’s carbon removal research, development, and deployment over a four year period from 2023-2026. This doubles DOE’s existing RD&D budget. The following statement can be attributed to Ben Rubin, Executive Director of the Carbon Business Council. The Carbon Business Council is a trade association of more than 40 companies committed to the economic and responsible growth of carbon management.
Carbon Business Council Launches: Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The Carbon Business Council (CO2BC), a nonprofit trade association of more than 40 leading carbon management startups with combined assets of more than $100 million, launched Tuesday to advocate for early-stage companies focused on removing, utilizing, and managing carbon dioxide. The founding member companies are market leaders with diverse carbon management approaches. CO2BC also includes observers to strengthen connections between startups and carbon removal investors, nonprofits, and other stakeholders.