⭐️ Supercritical highlight ⭐️
🌊 We are very excited to announce the launch of our new carbon removal supplier, Equatic (DAC with ocean storage), whilst in the same breath, shouting about them being named one of the best Innovations of 2023 by TIME magazine!
🪵 Earlier this month, we also partnered with biochar supplier, Mash Makes on 10,000t of carbon removal!
🍃 Carbon removal
What is happening in the world of carbon removal?
⚖️ State of carbon credits in 2023
Sylvera have released their annual state of carbon credits report, providing an overview of how the market can move forward after a year of intense scrutiny (to be clear this was for avoidance offsets i.e. REDD+ and clean cookstove projects)
Here’s our takeaways:
The growth of the VCM has stalled: Our money is on two things: 1. negative press such as ‘that’ Guardian exposé into REDD+. 2. the EU law to ban 'climate-neutral' claims
The outlier here is carbon removal! It’s perceived as more reliable and hasn’t
been the target of intense scrutiny. Companies are retiring removal project credits at very high rates, despite there being far fewer removal projects in comparison to avoidance
The rise of advanced purchasing: organisations are heading upstream and funding CDR projects before credits have been issued. In 2022, there were 600,000 tonnes of CDR purchased that were undelivered. In 2023, it jumped by more than 10x to 6.5 million tonnes purchased. This is being done to secure high-quality supply
Rating of credits: From a credit rating perspective. The highest-rated projects in Sylverra’s view are REDD+ (some receiving AA [highest is AAA]). Compare this with the highest-rated Afforestation, Reforestation and Restoration (ARR) projects which only received an A
In summary, it’s positive to see the growth in trust and commitment to carbon removal this year; organisations are turning to pre-issuance to lock in these projects. However, the overall message of the report seems to be that REDD+ is the leading project out there. Yet, comparing REDD+ against afforestation is not comparing like for like - the former is avoidance and the latter is carbon removal. Plotting them on the same ranking system does not do either justice on their full climate impact and is confusing to the end buyer, leading to misunderstandings about what constitutes a high-quality carbon credit.
👥 The International Carbon Markets Summit 2023
Fiona had an insightful time at the International Carbon Markets Summit in London on Monday. There were sentiments of positivity and hope and a couple of key themes emerged:
Importance of building trust
Through clarity - there was a call for a global price on carbon emissions and an urgent need for common clear language within the space
Through integrity - an interesting discussion emerged. Whilst most were championing the need for high integrity credits there was an undertone of not letting this overshadow removal happening now. Both are needed
Regulation
The call for regulation was huge and from so many players across the space
There was a lot of talk about further clarification around Article 6, the need for international cooperation and clarity on how the voluntary markets and compliance markets will interact (we’re expecting this to be announced at COP28)
The VCMI and ICVCM seemed to be setting the initial bar for governments and organisations
ICVCM - on the supply side will aim to regulate what can be classed as a high-integrity carbon removal credit. It is already seeing positive action as Verra is currently updating its methodologies to fall in line with it. Some argued it was too stringent and left the market in a bit of a halt phase until CCP credits come out
VCMI - on the demand side, is set to release guidance on disclosures and claims, this is due out at the end of the month
🪵 Big news on biochar
Did you know biochar represented 92% of permanent carbon removal sales in the first part of 2023…! Waste biomass is the perfect feedstock for biochar and a recent study suggested if all crop residues generated by agriculture globally were utilised for biochar production, it could remove 3% to 7% of global CO2 emissions. It’s great to see the evolving evidence demonstrating biochar’s potentially vital role as a carbon removal solution.
Additionally, a recent podcast with Prof Hamed Sanei highlighted that a majority of the carbon in biochar might be non-degradable and essentially permanent. If this can be proven, it would be a huge breakthrough for biochar!
🔗 🚗 Mini links: Carbon removal
🌾 The grass really is greener. A recent study shows that grasslands and savannas in drier climates have stored more carbon over the last two decades than previously estimated!
🌳 A recent article in Nature found temperature extremes of 2022 to have reduced carbon uptake by European forests…
🪵 Puro.earth release v1 of their woody biomass storage methodology
⚖️ We are on track to remove 2 billion metric tons of CO2 globally, by 2050 though we’re still well short of the potential 5-10 billion needed (Wood Mackenzie)
🌎 Climate and Net Zero
What is happening in the world of climate and net zero?
🔦 Reporting spotlight: SECR
First up for our reporting spotlight is… Streamlined Energy & Carbon Reporting
SECR was introduced as a way for companies to report on their greenhouse gas emissions as part of end-of-year accounts. It is currently limited to scope 1 & 2 emissions but it provides companies with the opportunity to explore energy reduction measures.
It matters to you if: you meet two or more of the following requirements:
Turnover (or gross income) of £36 million or more
Balance sheet assets of £18 million or more
250 employees or more
When is reporting required: since the 1st of April 2019, qualifying companies need to report at the end of each financial year. The information needs to be included in a company’s Directors’ Report or equivalent Energy & Carbon Report in the case of LLPs.
What is reported: Scope 1 & 2 emissions
Intensity Metric. Companies must provide at least one emissions intensity ratio for their GHG emissions (e.g. tCO2e per FTE)
Energy Reduction Measures:
Companies must provide energy efficiency measures that have been and/or will be implemented
Where possible, resulting energy saving from the actions reported should also be stated
Voluntary Scope 3 reporting - companies are encouraged but not obligated to report on their scope 3 emissions
Estimated effort/time taken (1-5 ⭐):
For companies using Supercritical as their carbon footprint provider: ⭐
For companies who have already calculated their carbon emissions: ⭐⭐
For companies who have not yet calculated their carbon emissions: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Creds to our policy expert, Juliette Briey, for putting this series together!
🏔 Oil and Gas due to peak in 2030
We were encouraged to read that demand for fossil fuels is expected to peak this decade, based on a report by the IEA. This is based on today’s policies and rapid growth in clean energy technologies and structural economic and geopolitical changes are set to dramatically change the energy system over the next few years. We’re hoping this peak will be brought even further forward as policy advances.
🎙 Communicating effectively - talk like a human!
This is such an interesting data-backed guide on how to communicate climate change! “Save Florida” beats “Get to Net Zero by 2040” by a factor of 5:1 in the research. While also avoiding exaggeration (let people infer it is a crisis without saying it in their face 🤔) and keeping it relevant to the audience. Food for thought for sure. A recent article was also published on this.
🔗 🚗 Mini links: Climate
✋ How to slow climate change: Ratchet up decarbonisation, halt deforestation and ramp up carbon removal
🌳 EU signs roadmap for Congo forest partnership, which aims to safeguard the Congolese forests from deforestation
🗣VCMI announced additional Claims Code Guidance will be out on the 28th of November - we are keen to see what this entails!
🤑 Commercial
New partnerships, fundraises and exciting initiatives going on in carbon removal!
🤝 Deep Sky and Isometric have partnered on MRV
🤝 Equinor and Captura partner to develop ocean carbon removal
🔦 Carbon removal project spotlight
🌊 Direct air capture (DAC) with ocean storage 🌊
Equatic, our supplier, passes an electrical current through seawater (electrolysis) and then passes atmospheric air through the processed seawater(direct air capture); these steps trap carbon dioxide in solid minerals and as dissolved bicarbonate ions that are naturally found in the oceans, ensuring that the trapped carbon dioxide will remain stable for 10,000+years. Finally, Equatic uses rock to neutralise the processed seawater and ensure that the ocean’s chemistry is unaffected.
This newsletter is carefully crafted by Fi Watters and Tom Previte
Fi is a Climate Consultant at Supercritical with a MSc in Climate Change from King's College.
Tom specialises in selling carbon removal at Supercritical and hosts The Carbon Removal Show podcast.
