You will fail to meet your targets if you wait to engage with carbon removals.
This is what Simon Manley, Head of Carbon at carbon removal company, UNDO, said in this week’s Net Hero Podcast special.
‘As long as you’re on a net zero pathway, the only way to get there is to use carbon removals.
‘When a company decarbonises to the point where you can’t do anything else, unless you’re literally standing there with the lights turned off, you need to then remove any more carbon being produced from daily operations.
‘If you sit on your hands till 2029, considering that your net zero target in 2030 and then think, okay, now let’s get some carbon removal sorted because we’re going to need these next year.
‘There won’t be any left in the marketplace. Supply will be a major issue. And so organisations have to engage with this now to secure supply.’
UNDO removes carbon using enhanced rock weathering which is the acceleration of a natural process involving a chemical reaction between rain, CO2 and certain types of rock.
Enhanced rock weathering involves spreading finely ground silicate rock, such as basalt, onto surfaces which speeds up chemical reactions and this helps remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Simon told us that the carbon removal sector is growing cautiously, to ensure the credibility that carbon offsetting does not have.
‘The carbon offsetting world didn’t do itself many favours in the early years.
‘There was a lot of project failure and misinformation, including misaligned claims associated with what had been achieved from a carbon perspective and what was actually happening on the ground.
‘A significant movement around trying to grow the carbon removal sector is to do with the kind of credibility and integrity that the previous offsetting sector did not have.
‘It is still a voluntary sector. It isn’t regulated but there are now very stringent guidelines in place by very reputable and credible organisations.’
Watch the full episode below and don’t forget to register below to meet Simon at the Big Zero Show to better understand the world of carbon removals and rock weathering.
