Carbon180

The problem

The rapid reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to zero is not sufficient to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, i.e. to limit the anthropogenic global temperature increase to 1.5°C or less than 2°C compared to pre-industrial times. Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR), i.e. the use of methods to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, is unavoidable in order to compensate for residual emissions that are difficult to avoid.^[1]

On the one hand, there are few approaches that would allow some industries to completely eliminate CO2 or other greenhouse gas emissions^[2] ; on the other hand, known solutions for decarbonization have not been or are not being implemented fast enough.

The goal of climate neutrality is therefore to compensate for unavoidable or barely avoidable residual emissions. And if we do not achieve net-zero emissions very soon, these additional greenhouse gases will also have to be offset by “negative emissions” in order to achieve the temperature targets in the long term. The Systems Change Lab estimates that technological CDR will need to be increased to 30-690 MtCO2 per year by 2030, and as high as 740-5,500 MtCO2 per year by 2050, in order to meet the Paris climate goals^[3]

Although there are already several approaches to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, they are still underutilized. While the Systems Change Lab sees this as a positive development, it is far from sufficient to achieve the levels of CDR required by 2030 and 2050. The main reasons for this are the still very high costs and the often lacking political framework.

The solution

CO2 removal must become feasible in time. To ensure that “negative emissions” can be achieved safely, cost-effectively, and on the scale needed, it is important to invest now in researching and piloting new processes, and to create the framework conditions that will enable the deployment of known approaches.^[4] This is what Carbon180 is doing in the U.S., specifically in the following 3 areas:

• Political advocacy - At the political level Carbon180 works to create a framework for the promotion and expansion of Negative Emissions Technologies (NET) in the US.
• Fostering innovation — Carbon180 works directly with start-ups and academia in a network of industry experts and scientists to remove barriers to the growth of NET.
• Environmental justice — Carbon180 advocates for equitable CO2 removal policies that address the interests of previously disadvantaged communities and ensure greater climate justice, as outlined in the report. Removing Forward .

The impact

Carbon180 has already achieved considerable success, particularly in the area of political advocacy in the U.S.. In 2021, for example, the organization successfully lobbied for the “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act” funds in the billions were made available for research, development and deployment (RD&D) of NET. In the previous year, with a budget of less than $500,000, Carbon180 helped increase federal research spending on NET to $68 million by 2020 and introduced federal tax credits for Direct Air Capture, processes that extract CO2 directly from ambient air. Even if Carbon180 has made all of these outcomes only a fraction more likely, it makes the organization highly effective and extraordinarily cost efficient.

Since then Carbon180 has been committed to the successful implementation of the regional “Direct Air Capture” hubs among other things, for which $3.5 billion has been allocated from the U.S. federal budget- partly due to the efforts of the Carbon180-team. For local acceptance of the hubs, Carbon180 places strong emphasis on environmental justice, as in the past the development of energy infrastructure in the U.S. has often been at the expense of disadvantaged social groups.

Other priorities of the organization for 2023 and 2024 include

• U.S. Farm Bill 2023:The Farm Bill defines agricultural policy for the next five years and therefore offers an important opportunity to activate forests and agricultural lands as carbon sinks. Carbon180 is working on proposals for a comprehensive, interagency program to develop the necessary science, tools and projects.
• Other CDR methods: The focus of US CDR policy is almost exclusively on Direct Air Capture as a technology. Accordingly Carbon180 advocates for greater consideration of other methods of CO2 removal and storage, including storage in the oceans .

The organization

Carbon180 is a nonprofit organization founded in Oakland, California in 2015 and based in Washington, DC. Carbon180 currently employs about 30 people. 

Although the organization is still relatively young, its expertise is already being taken very seriously by policymakers. For example, Carbon180’s the co-founder and then-president, Noah Deich, joined the transition team of US President-elect Joseph Biden in November 2020. He is now Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) at the US Department of Energy.^[5]

Overall, the increased attention for CDR is also evident in the philanthropic environment. Since 2018, funding has more than doubled to approximately $175 million per year. However, almost three-quarters of the funding went to natural carbon sinks. Funding for technological CDR solutions or oceans remains low.^[6]

Long-term, programmatic work on CDR like Carbon180 ‘s is still the exception rather than the rule for climate protection organizations, so that Carbon180 continues to play an important role. Carbon180 itself has also benefited from the increased attention for CDR; accordingly, the organization’s funding needs are now lower and are primarily focused on continued, cautious growth. The initiative Giving Green, which evaluates highly effective climate protection organizations, therefore no longer lists Carbon180 as a recommendation.^[7]

As CDR remains an important but rather neglected area despite increasing attention and as Carbon180 has so far been able to make a convincing contribution to change, we will continue to recommend Carbon180 . However, the benefit of an additional donation euro is now likely to be somewhat higher in other areas.