So as carbon removal capacity catches up with that corporate demand, the fate of the industry will increasingly depend on how much more help governments are willing to provide-and on how thoughtfully they craft any accompanying rules.Ĭountries may support the emerging industry through carbon trading markets, direct purchases, mandates on polluters, fuel standards, or other measures. There are only a handful of direct-air-capture plants, which take years to construct, and companies are still testing out or scaling up other approaches, like burying biochar and pumping bio-oil deep underground.Ĭosts are sure to come down, but it’s always going to be relatively expensive to do this well, and there are only so many corporate customers that will be willing to pay the true cost, observers say. ![]() These include Microsoft and companies participating in the $1 billion Frontier program.Īt the moment, I’m told, corporate demand is outstripping the availability of reliable forms of carbon removal. For now, some businesses are willing to pay the really high current costs for carbon removal, in part to help the sector scale up. On top of that, companies are looking for ways to meet their net-zero commitments. By some estimates, nations may have to remove 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year by midcentury to keep the planet from blowing past 2 ☌ of warming, or to pull it back into safer terrain. The sector has taken off, in part, because a growing body of studies has found that a huge amount of carbon removal will be needed to keep rising temperatures in check. In background conversations, several industry insiders I’ve spoken with acknowledge that the number of carbon removal companies is simply unsustainable, and that a sizable share will flame out at some point.
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