Last week in New York, we gathered with destination leaders, media, investors, policymakers and advocates to discuss the power of global partnerships, approaches to emissions reductions and the need for climate investment to transform climate policy. The event, generously hosted by the Norwegian Consul General and Innovation Norway, sparked a lively discussion on the role of technology, policy, and individual responsibility in implementing solutions.
In a recent carbon removal survey, nearly 700 experts weighed in on these topics. The report identified several key policies to overcome existing barriers, with carbon pricing and government purchase of carbon removal emerging as the most effective strategies to make large-scale carbon removal viable and efficient. Despite numerous challenges, experts are optimistic, predicting multi-gigaton scale carbon dioxide removal to occur by 2050. However, the industry can’t reach this scale without demand-pull policies and research and development support.
The report estimated that if research and development funding is coupled with policies like carbon pricing, net-negative emissions could become feasible by 2050, or even earlier. This effort is also being tested in real -time with the new Voluntary Carbon Markets Joint Policy Statement. The statement is a collaborative declaration aiming to improve the standards, transparency and governance of voluntary carbon markets. It calls on governments, private companies and climate startups to work together and help ensure the credibility of carbon removal credits.
A recent webinar moderated by Patch discussed the impact the Policy Statement is already having on the carbon dioxide removal market. The conversation highlighted Charm Industrial, a climate startup focused on bio-oil sequestration and a semifinalist in the DoE’s Purchase Pilot Prize. Through the support of the prize, Charm has doubled their machine capacity in the last year.
As the travel industry works to reduce its environmental impact, the demand signal and funding provided by programs like the CDR Purchase Pilot Prize and policies outlined in the Joint Policy Statement offer promising pathways for achieving climate goals. Through Tomorrow’s Air, you can participate in the scale-up of climate technologies and, with our educational support, help lay a foundation for more sustainable travel experiences.
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