Maximising Climate Impact through Permanent Carbon Removals: Embracing The Contribution Approach

by Carbonx Climate | May 11, 2023 | Articles

As the climate crisis intensifies, businesses are increasingly recognising their responsibility to combat climate change actively. Carbonx is at the forefront of this movement, facilitating access to high-quality, permanent carbon dioxide removal (CDR) solutions for large corporations. Through Carbonx, organisations can rationalise the procurement of permanent carbon removal and thoroughly measure the climate impact of their actions. As corporations look more into compensating their residual emissions and maximising their climate impact, a light needs to be shed on a growing trend, i.e. corporations moving away from a rigid compensation approach towards a contribution approach to carbon removal, which allows for greater flexibility, innovation, and market-wide adoption, ultimately accelerating the transition towards a sustainable future.

The Contribution Approach

Traditional carbon offsetting strategies often adopt a rigid 1-to-1 compensation approach, where one tonne of emitted carbon is offset by one tonne removed. While this method may appear straightforward, it can inadvertently stifle innovation and limit the climate impact of an organisation’s actions, as it prioritises a number of offsets vs quality. To maximise climate impact, businesses must adopt a contribution approach, which focuses on the impact of their actions rather than rigid claims.

The contribution approach provides several key advantages:

1. Flexibility: Focusing on impact instead of claims allows organisations to pursue a wide range of climate action strategies, tailoring their approach to suit their unique needs and resources.
2. Innovation: By prioritising impact, organisations are encouraged to develop and invest in frontier CDR technologies, bringing about efficiency and driving the advancement of permanent carbon removal solutions.
3. Market-wide adoption: The contribution approach promotes a broader adoption of permanent carbon removal technologies unlocking new economies of scale and a more significant collective climate impact.

But to adopt such an approach and promote climate impact as a guiding mechanism, practical tools are needed to measure said impact.

A quick introduction to the Carbonx CDR Impact Framework

To help organisations measure and optimise the impact of their investments, Carbonx has developed a proprietary assessment mechanism called the CDR Impact Framework. This innovative framework evaluates the potential impact of an invested dollar on three criteria, using both quantitative and qualitative lenses. The critical component of this framework is the “potential” aspect, assessing how promising each technology and its related projects are in terms of their climate impact.

Carbonx’s focus on four core removal pathways—Direct Air Capture (DAC), Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW), Bio-based with long-term storage, and Ocean Alkalinity—ensures that organisations have access to the most effective and sustainable CDR solutions. By investing in these pathways, businesses can be confident that their contributions are accelerating the advent of permanent carbon removals thanks to the Carbonx CDR Impact Framework.

All in all, the contribution approach to carbon removal offers a more effective and flexible way for businesses to maximise their climate impact. By focusing on the impact of their actions rather than rigid claims, organisations can foster innovation, drive market-wide adoption of frontier CDR technologies, and contribute significantly to the global effort against climate change. Carbonx’s CDR Impact Framework enables businesses to measure and optimise their investments, ensuring that every dollar spent contributes to a sustainable future.