The Carbon Removal Ecosystem
Carbon dioxide removal strategies are human interventions that take CO₂ out of the atmosphere and store it durably.
Potential solutions can draw down CO₂ through photosynthesis, chemistry or geochemistry, and store it in ecosystems across the globe from ocean, to land and within our built environment. Explore the possibilities below…
Why Carbon Removal?
The Carbon Gap
Our first priority in fighting climate change should always be reducing new emissions. However even the most optimistic scenarios for emissions reduction will not limit warming to 1.5°C. This leaves a yawning gap that cannot be closed by future decarbonisation alone; we must also remove excess carbon that has already been added to our environment by human activity.
The challenge of scale
Different models referenced by the IPCC suggest that limiting warming to 1.5°C will require Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) of between 5 - 15 Gt (1 Gt = 1 billion tons) each year by 2050. We estimate CDR in 2021 will total 0.018 Gt globally.
This leaves us less than 3 decades to scale our efforts by 50,000%.
The time is Now
While these are daunting goals, they are not beyond reach. NGFS scenarios suggest that with immediate action and rapid deployment of CDR, voluntary markets could grow to between 7-13 Gt each year by 2050. Achieving that scale means mobilising now to prove out the pathways which can lock carbon away cost effectively, scale fast and offer maximum benefit to environment and society.
2050 removal Required ~10 Gt CO₂/Yr
(1 dot = 1,000,000 tons)
2021 Carbon Removal Expected
~2.5Mt CO₂
(at best)
Why Counteract?
The Challenge for Carbon Entrepreneurs
Carbon Removal is a frontier market. As demand and supply take shape, innovators in the space have a lot to figure out:
How to deliver exponential growth while tackling physical world challenges - on a planetary scale
How to navigate complex ethical and environmental considerations alongside financial & executional risk
How to build companies in an unformed ecosystem where metrics, markets, technologies, demand and supply chains are still works in progress.
How to attract and retain highly specialist skills and mobilise diverse interests.
What we bring to the table
We’re here to help navigate this new and fast-changing market. Our team come equipped with:
Patient capital. We’re here to help carbon removal companies needing investment to accelerate their growth. Our overriding objective is catalysing carbon removal, but our investment criteria also prioritise self-sustaining business models, ecosystem diversity and responsibility.
Hands-on support. Our team has first-hand experience building and backing growth businesses. We’re excited to support new ventures, from finding the right business model and go-to-market approach to structuring and startup capital.
Expert partners. Our trusted network of entrepreneurs, scientists, customers and investment partners share our passionate belief in the importance of the CDR space and ambition to help make change happen.
Responsible stewardship. Good choices have never been more important. Our domain knowledge helps us identify pathways with co-benefits and avoid fixing one problem to create another.
Our Thinking
