Climeworks Solutions to allow clients to invest in a mix of direct air capture, engineered, and nature-based carbon removal projects
Leading carbon removal technology provider Climeworks has today announced the launch of a new service, which will see it provide clients with carbon removal credit portfolios, alongside its existing offer of carbon credits linked to its direct air capture projects.
The company said Climeworks Solutions would tailor portfolios to the individual needs of companies and would comprise a mix of engineered and nature-based approaches that remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
Swiss luxury watchmaker Breitling has been confirmed as the first brand to sign up to the new service through a first-of-its-kind 12-year agreement that supports the company's net zero roadmap and internal decarbonisation efforts. The deal will support a 'dynamic portfolio' of projects that mainly includes Climeworks' own direct air capture technology, as well as enhanced weathering projects.
"By building a high-quality and robust removal portfolio for our hard-to-abate emissions, Climeworks is helping us realize our vision for social and environmental impact," said Aurelia Figueroa, global director of sustainability at Breitling. "Their expertise in the carbon removal industry, project due diligence, and identification of high-quality solutions complement our own efforts to pioneer meaningful climate action."
Climeworks said nearly 30 clients are already in negotiations to take advantage of the new service, which will provide assurances that every solution has undergone an in-depth due diligence process and that "one ton of CO2 purchased will really be one ton of CO2 removed".
"The science and sourcing teams exclusively consider solutions for the portfolios that meet Climeworks' own rigorous quality standards and have been third-party verified," the company added.
"We meet customers where they are today," said Adrian Siegrist, vice president of Climeworks Solutions. "Some are highly advanced in their strategy but have limited resources to scan the market for high-quality solutions. Others recognise the need to shift away from avoidance offsets, but are at the beginning of the journey, with limited budgets. We can cater to all those needs and meet their ability to pay."
Christoph Gebald, co-founder and co-CEO at the company, said Climeworks was well placed to meet growing demand for high integrity carbon removals.
"We have 15 years of experience in permanent carbon removal via direct air capture," he said. "We have profound insights stemming from real-life operational experience and extensive R&D in technology. Thus, we know what determines best-in-class. This is why we are uniquely positioned to meet the growing demand for carbon removal in the market. A market that, according to analysts, has a trillion-dollar potential in 2050. So far, the market has been dominated by early adopters. Now, we see a next wave of companies entering as buyers and we can serve them according to their individual needs."
The news comes on the same day as The O2 Venue in London announced it had successfully purchased a portfolio of carbon removal credits for the first time in conjunction with a series of four concerts from The 1975 in February.
It also comes in the midst of a major row over the role of carbon credits in counting towards corporate net zero targets, sparked by a statement from the board of the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) that signalled it could support a relaxation of the group's rules to allow for the wider use of carbon credits to meet net zero supply chain goals.
The proposals were broadly supported by carbon credit providers and business groups, but sparked a fierce backlash from green NGOs and some SBTi employees who argued the wider use of carbon offsets without sufficient guardrails and quality assurances risked distracting from the need to cut emissions at source.
Green groups continue to maintain stronger standards and validation processes are urgently needed to ensure projects backed by carbon credits deliver promised emissions reductions and carbon removals, and do not distract from the need to cut emissions at source.
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