Buying Carbon Dioxide Removals

(CDR)Susan Dorward

Sustainability & Energy Coordinator

Poll - Do you buy offsets?

u Scope 1 = for burning fossil fuels on campus

u Scope 3 = indirect emissions in value chain

STARS OP 2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (8 points)

For this credit, the following carbon sinks may be counted:

u Third-party verified, purchased carbon offsets

u Institution-catalyzed carbon offsets (popularly known as “local offsets”)

u Carbon storage from on-site composting. The compost may be produced off-site, but must originate from on-site materials and be returned to the campus for use as a soil amendment.

Purchased carbon offsets that have not been third-party verified do not count. Consistent with the Sustainability Indicator Management & Analysis Platform (SIMAP) and relevant protocols from The Offset Network, non-additional sequestration does not count, but may be reported in the optional reporting field provided.

STARS 2.2

https://www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/publications/reports/Oxford-Offsetting-Principles-2020.pdf

The Oxford Principles

1. Cut emissions, use high quality offsets, and regularly revise offsetting strategy as best practice evolves

2. Shift to carbon removal offsetting

Most offsets available today are emission reductions, which are necessary but not sufficient to achieve net zero in the long run. Carbon removals scrub carbon directly from the atmosphere.

3. Shift to long-lived storage (centuries to millenia)

4. Support the development of net zero aligned offsetting…

Carbon removal = taking CO2 out of the air and permanently storing it

https://www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/publications/reports/Oxford-Offsetting-Principles-2020.pdf

https://www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/publications/reports/Oxford-Offsetting-Principles-2020.pdf

u Rock dust mineralization

u Biochar

u Ocean CDR

u Direct air capture

u Geologic sequestration

u Built environment

u Carbon fiber

u Coastal carbon capture

u Kelp

u Sequestering bio-oil

https://openaircollective.cc/this-is-cdr

Introductory reading (Ch. 2): https://cdrprimer.org/

https://www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/publications/reports/Oxford-Offsetting-Principles-2020.pdf

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02606-3https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RE4MDlchttps://cdn.shopify.com/static/sustainability/How-to-Kick-Start-the-Carbon-Removal-Market_Shopifys-Playbook.pdfhttps://stripe.com/newsroom/news/spring-21-carbon-removal-purchaseshttps://www.carboncure.com/concrete-corner/beyond-carbon-neutral-carboncures-investments-to-fight-climate-change-internally-and-globally/

CDR Companies and Marketplaces

Type IV

u Forest carbon (7)*

u Grassroots Carbon*

u Indigo Ag*

u Nori*

u Pachama*

Biochar

u Carbofex*

u Carbon Cycle*u ECHO2**u ECOERA*

u Husk*

Type V

u Carbon Engineering*

u Carbonbuilt*

u CarbonCure*

u Charm****

u Climeworks***

u Future Forest*

u greenSand*

u Heirloom*

u Mission Zero*

u Planetary Hydrogen*

u Project Vesta*

u Running Tide*

u SeaChange*

Permits plus CDR

u Air to Earth (A2E)

u Climate Vault

Marketplaces

u Aureus Earth

u Carbonfuture

u Persefoni (Patch.io)

u Puro.earth***

u Thanks a Ton (retail)

Issuesu Type IV

u forests have burned (Microsoft, buffer pools)

u additionality issues (TNC/AFF)

u limited permanence (10 year contracts for soil carbon)

u Biochar

u materials and permanence vary

u some materials are from biomass power plants

u Type V

u up to $775/tonne (Climeworks)

u not third-party verified yet

u some not available yet (Carbon Engineering in 2024) or need time (greenSand)

u Marketplace purchases

u verification/protocol documentation and certificates

Case study:

u Small number of verified type IV forestry removals

u US: $11.55/tonne

u International: $9.60/tonne (remote sensing)

u Very small number of verified biochar removals

u $114/tonne (negotiable if 10+ tons)

u $104/tonne with 100 tonne minimum

u One unverified type V removal

u $600/tonne (funding?)

u STARS innovation credit

u Verified type I avoided emissions in past 3 years

u US (wind): $6.21/tonne

u International (hydro): $3.85/tonne

Poll – Have you bought CDR? Interested?u Type IV – CDR with short-lived storage

u “higher risk of being reversed over decades”

u Forest

u Soil

u Ecosystem

u Type V – CDR with long-lived storage

u “low risk of reversal over centuries to millennia”

u Biochar and blue carbon?

u DACCS

u BECCS

u Mineralization

u Enhanced weathering

Oxford Principle 4: “Support the development of net zero aligned offsetting”

u Market signaling

u Aggregating demand and supply (long-term agreements)

u Forming sector-specific alliances

u Supporting the restoration and protection of a wide range of natural and semi-natural ecosystems in their own right

u Incorporating the Principles into regulations and standards

https://www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/publications/reports/Oxford-Offsetting-Principles-2020.pdf

Next steps

u Funding

u energy efficiency rebates

u car charging stations

u foundation grants

u Explore

u alliances

u group purchases (discounts)

u publicity

u update STARS offsets requirements

Discussion / Q&A

Please contact me!

Susan.Dorward@raritanval.edu

Standards and Terms

Third-party verified carbon offsets are purchased from outside vendors. The Verified Carbon Standard [now Verra] and the Gold Standard are two organizations that provide project-level third-party certification for carbon offsets. These standards provide assurance that offsets are real, measured, permanent, verified, and beyond business-as-usual GHG emission reductions. Green-e Climate is a retail standard and certification for carbon offsets that requires use of high-quality offset project standards like VCS and Gold Standard and also provides assurances related to the accurate and exclusive sale and delivery of carbon offsets in the retail market.

STARS 2.2