It’s not every day that a local community gathers to explore ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) and what it would mean if a project came to a bay near them. That’s why I went to observe a community comment session in Cornwall, south-western UK last week organised by Planetary, a Canadian company hoping to trial its OAE method in St Ives Bay this summer.   Over fifty local people came to hear Planetary’s vision, ask questions and provide feedback in what could be the start of ongoing engagement. I sat at…

To accelerate Europe’s net-zero industrial transformation, the European Commission has presented a Communication on “A Green Deal Industrial Plan for the Net-Zero Age”. The plan sets out four pillars that, together, intend to speed up the net-zero industrial transformation and secure opportunities for the European industry in a net-zero age. The new plan could provide much needed support to technology intensive carbon dioxide removal approaches. To deliver its goal of developing industrial manufacturing of “key technologies,” the upcoming Net-Zero Industry Act will aim to ensure a stable and simplified regulatory environment. To…

The world of carbon dioxide removal moves fast. New methods are constantly being piloted, companies formed, corporate purchases of removal credits announced, and government funding opportunities devised. The first-of-a-kind report, released today, The State of Carbon Dioxide Removal looks at the progress of carbon removal through many lenses, from the research and innovation to policy and public acceptance. It assembles data to estimate how much carbon is being removed from the atmosphere today and by which methods, and shows just how far we have to go to reach the volumes…

To date, discussions on carbon dioxide removal (CDR) have been driven by high income countries with the financial and legislative muscle to get things off the ground. At COP27, Eli and Kayla noted a shift in discourse as CDR leaders from the Global South forcefully entered the fray. In the last instalment of their COP retrospect, they discuss this development and highlight key ideas from the civic zones. Among the most exciting Blue Zone events we attended was “Carbon Removal: Pioneers from the Global South” an official UN-endorsed Futures Lab…

For Carbon Gap, the most exciting developments at COP27 came from the Blue, Green, and Innovation zones. In these more civic, less structured spaces, ideas from around the world came to the fore and gained traction. In parts two and three of this COP retrospective, Eli and Kayla reflect on their experience navigating COP, highlighting areas of progress.  Love or loathe COPs, beyond the often depressingly political negotiations (see our first blog), they are unrivalled opportunities to take the pulse of global climate action and discourse; to learn from people’s…

Brussels, 30 November 2022 – Today, the European Commission published its legislative proposal on a Carbon Removal Certification Framework (“CRCF”), which would establish overarching EU rules to govern how the climate benefits of carbon dioxide removal (“CDR”) are quantified and verified. The stated goal is to foster and accelerate the scale-up of sustainable carbon removals, which includes a wide variety of innovative methods for farmers, foresters, industries, and others to capture and store non-fossil CO2 (atmospheric or biogenic). Certification represents a necessary and significant step toward integrating carbon removals into…

The EU is taking decisive steps to develop a new law that would grant soils the same level of legal protection as air and water. This law would add a legal backbone to the EU’s Soil Strategy for 2030, which aims to normalise the protection, restoration, and sustainable use of soil across Member States to promote the health of all EU land. Carbon Gap recently submitted a response to a public consultation on this topic held by the European Commission. Why is such a law necessary and how should it…

As global carbon dioxide emissions reach record-breaking levels, the world’s annual climate negotiation drew to a close in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. This year, negotiators focused on three main issues: expediting emission cuts, securing promised mitigation and adaptation finance for developing nations, and the prospect of a new fund for loss and damage. In the fine print of official documents and in the bustle of the Blue, Green and Innovation Zones, the topic of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) was also broached, with some significant yet fragmented progress made. In this…

The Carbon Gap team has been stepping up a gear since summer, with new CEO Glenn Morley and a growing and driven team. Our primary focus has been on Brussels. On 26 October, Carbon Gap welcomed over 100 guests, a stone-throw away from the European Parliament, at our event “Bridging the gap: the case for European leadership in Carbon Removal”, with keynote speaker Dr Oliver Geden. This was a great platform to launch our first White Paper: A guide to certifying carbon removal. We hope this in-depth analysis can contribute…

Earlier this year, the UK Government announced a consultation on ‘business models’ for engineered greenhouse gas removals, the term preferred by the UK government for carbon removal and related activities. This follows a period of increasing interest and commitment by the UK Government to support carbon removal, including a £100M program to support early-stage research, development, and deployment, as well as a research hub, CO2RE. We at Carbon Gap have been following these developments closely and pleased to see the UK Government’s increased attention to carbon removal, as well as…