By - The Team Quantum Leapers : Noah Timothy, Izaan Muhamed, Madhav CU
At Google, our goal is to achieve net-zero emissions across all of our operations and value chain by 2030. We aim to reduce 50% of our combined Scope 1, 2 (market-based), and 3 absolute emissions (versus our 2019 baseline) before 2030, and plan to invest in nature-based and technology-based carbon removal solutions to neutralize our remaining emissions.
Our net-zero goal is supported by an ambitious clean energy goal to operate our offices and data centers on 24/7 carbon-free energy, such as solar and wind.1
In our third decade of climate action, we’ll continue to take a science-based approach to our efforts, while sharing our own lessons and progress with others. There are three main focus areas that make up our approach to our net-zero goal: reducing emissions across our operations and value chain, advancing carbon-free energy, and addressing our residual emissions with carbon removals.
Source by Google
Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) has emerged as a critical tool in mitigating climate change. While urgent emissions reduction is necessary to limit global temperature rise, achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 requires additional carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines CDR as "technologies, practices, and approaches that remove and durably store carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere." CDR encompasses various approaches, including direct air capture, soil carbon sequestration, biomass carbon removal, and ocean-based CDR.
The scientific consensus is that CDR will play a crucial role in helping to meet climate targets, but it cannot replace the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The growing interest in CDR has led to significant investment and the development of a wide range of new approaches and technologies, each at different stages of development and with varying environmental and social impacts. As a relatively new field, the development of a diverse portfolio of CDR technologies and approaches is essential to reduce risks and costs and ensure the capacity to remove carbon from the air at the necessary levels in the coming decades.
The U.S. Department of Energy's CDR program is focused on advancing diverse CDR approaches to facilitate the removal of atmospheric carbon dioxide on a gigatonne scale per year by 2050. The program emphasizes a rigorous analysis of the life cycle, techno-economic, and equity impacts of prospective CDR technologies. It invests in CDR technologies with commercialization potentials, such as direct air and ocean capture, biomass with carbon removal, and mineralization reactions, to remove legacy CO2 emissions and address emissions from hard-to-decarbonize sectors.
Despite the advancements in carbon removal, many businesses are still unsure about the reasons to invest in CDR and are seeking direction on how traditional land-based and innovative technological approaches could fit into their climate action plans. A guide for business on carbon removal adoption provides practical direction for sustainability professionals to develop effective CDR investment strategies. It outlines seven key principles for responsible CDR investments and a decision-making framework empowering companies to evaluate different CDR methods based on company-specific preferences. A complementary excel tool is provided to help companies tailor their own assessments. The guide explores a range of promising CDR methods and how to proactively plan a diverse portfolio of both nature-based and technological methods to maximize benefits and minimize risks
In conclusion, CDR is a critical tool in mitigating climate change, but it cannot replace the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The development of a diverse portfolio of CDR technologies and approaches is essential to reduce risks and costs and ensure the capacity to remove carbon from the air at the necessary levels in the coming decades. The U.S. Department of Energy's CDR program and a guide for business on carbon removal adoption provide practical direction for advancing CDR technologies and developing effective CDR investment strategies.
Direct air capture (DAC) is a promising technology that can remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. Start-up companies, such as Noya, are developing new DAC technologies that can reduce energy or resource use and can be integrated into existing infrastructure, which can avoid some of the challenges that come with siting new, standalone infrastructure. For example, DAC can be integrated into a building’s cooling towers, which remove a building’s heat by circulating water and air. The air moving through this cooling system can be redirected into pipes and stand-alone carbon dioxide capture equipment. The system uses small surface areas and could reduce energy needs. Other conceptions of DAC, such as a technology developed by Verdox, may be able to significantly reduce energy usage. 1
DAC is a comparatively new field, and many efforts are underway to scale up DAC technologies quickly to achieve carbon removal on a gigatonne scale per year by 2050. The technology involves capturing CO2 from the air and storing it underground safely for centuries or millennia. DAC technologies differ in terms of removal process, timescale of carbon storage, technological maturity, mitigation potential, cost, and co-benefits, as well as adverse side effects, which should be managed through appropriate governance and policies. 5
The development of DAC technologies is essential to reduce risks and costs and ensure the capacity to remove carbon from the air at the necessary levels in the coming decades. Noya, for example, is working to accelerate direct-air carbon removal with a low-power, modular system that can be mass-manufactured and deployed around the world. The company plans to power its system with renewable energy and build its facilities near injection wells to store carbon. Using third-party auditors to verify the amount of carbon dioxide captured, Noya is selling carbon credits to help organizations reach net-zero emissions targets. The company is currently building its first commercial pilot facility, and its first full-scale commercial facility will have the capacity to pull millions of tons of carbon from the air each year . 1
Other companies, such as Climeworks, Global Thermostat, and Aker Carbon Capture, are also leading the way in direct air capture. Climeworks operates over 6500 mini plants around the world with the goal of removing 4000 tons of carbon emissions every year. Global Thermostat has patented technology that captures CO2 from the air and converts it into a range of products, including fuels, chemicals, and building materials. Aker Carbon Capture is developing carbon capture technologies for industrial processes, such as cement and steel production, and power generation. The company's technology involves capturing CO2 before it enters the atmosphere, transporting it, and storing it underground safely for centuries or millennia 4.
In conclusion, DAC is a promising technology that can remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The development of DAC technologies is essential to reduce risks and costs and ensure the capacity to remove carbon from the air at the necessary levels in the coming decades. Start-up companies, such as Noya, are developing new DAC technologies that can reduce energy or resource use and can be integrated into existing infrastructure. Other companies, such as Climeworks, Global Thermostat, and Aker Carbon Capture, are also leading the way in direct air capture 1 4 5.