We, the undersigned, members of the Carbon Dioxide Removal community, acknowledge the global scientific consensus that “it is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land”, and that high atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are the most significant manifestation of that influence.
We similarly acknowledge the scientific consensus that the removal of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere is a necessary complement to swift and deep emissions reductions in the context of the global effort to halt, and ultimately reverse, the rise in those atmospheric concentrations.
We make the following commitments to society in the context of our species’ mission to halt anthropogenic planetary climate change.
What is CDR
We endorse the IPCC’s definition of carbon dioxide removals (“CDR”): “Anthropogenic activities removing CO2 from the atmosphere and durably storing it in geological, terrestrial, or ocean reservoirs, or in products. It includes existing and potential anthropogenic enhancement of biological or geochemical sinks and direct air capture and storage, but excludes natural CO2 uptake not directly caused by human activities.”
What is not CDR
We underline that the capture and storage of CO2 from point-source emissions of geospheric origin (“fossil point-source CCS”), which is a necessary part of emission reductions, does not remove atmospheric CO2 and is therefore not equivalent to CDR in its effect on atmospheric concentrations of CO2.
Similarly, we underline that while circular uses of atmospheric CO2 for applications that return it to the atmosphere in the short term can be a useful tool in net emissions reduction efforts, these uses are not equivalent to CDR in their effect on atmospheric concentrations of CO2.
Furthermore, we believe that using CO2 captured from the atmosphere for the purpose of enhancing the recovery of geospheric fossil fuels is not compatible with the purposes of CDR set out in paragraphs 8 and 10 and therefore cannot be considered a form of CDR.
CDR’s Role in Climate Action and Policy
We underline that CO2 emissions must urgently be reduced to as close to zero as possible.
In line with the IPCC , we commit to defending the position that, in in addition to deep, rapid, and sustained emission reductions CDR can fulfil three different complementary roles, at either the global or the country level:
i. lowering net CO2 or net GHG emissions in the near term;
ii. counterbalancing ‘hard-to-abate’ residual emissions in order to help reach net zero CO2 or GHG emissions in the mid-term; and
iii. achieving net negative CO2 or GHG emissions in the long term if deployed at levels exceeding annual residual emissions.
We believe that CDR must not be used to reduce the level of ambition on emission reductions, because this would impede efforts to slow and reverse global warming.
We believe that government and corporate climate policy frameworks must accurately reflect the distinction between emissions reductions and CDR as well as acknowledge the difference between the long- and short-term carbon cycles in line with the “like-for-like” principle .
Science
Believing that science promises innovation and objective measures of progress,
We commit to be driven by climate science. In particular, we commit to:
i. making decisions informed by the global scientific consensus as expressed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC);
ii. actively seeking to update our knowledge and understanding of the latest scientific work on climate in general and CDR specifically;
iii. contributing our own scientific work to the body of global science whenever possible, while protecting intellectual property rights and trade secrets.
Transparency
Conscious of the importance of public trust,
1. We commit to communicating truthfully and accurately about the impact of our CDR activities.
2. We commit to communicating transparently about uncertainties around the effectiveness, permanence, and potential side effects various methods of CDR and working to provide clarity around open questions.
3. We commit to engaging with other members of the CDR community that we deal with, with a view to helping them to communicate truthfully and accurately and avoid misrepresenting the impact of our activities.
4. We commit to working with the media to make knowledge about our carbon removal methods and objectives widely available. We commit to providing media and the broader CDR stakeholder community with which we work (including, but not limited to civil society organisations, think tanks and academia) with accurate information and will work with them to ensure accurate reporting.
5. Recognizing that the balance of rights and interests in the CDR industry is not the same as in traditional industries and that CDR is done for the benefit of the planet, and in relation to the commitments set out throughout this section, we commit to high levels of transparency, reserving the right to protect commercially sensitive information, our intellectual property and trade secrets.
6. In the context of the above and where appropriate, we commit to providing data on our CDR activities to common industry data resources and to supporting and contributing to centralized open access registries to create a sound and trusted market.
Sustainability
Because the intent behind CDR activities is fundamentally connected to sustainability, in light of the fact that CDR activities can have sustainability co-benefits as well as negative effects, and regarding all aspects of sustainability as important,
1. We commit to making good faith efforts to generate and maximize co-benefits in our activities that contribute to sustainability outcomes beyond the removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
2. We commit to monitoring any negative effects that our CDR activities may entail and to working to avoid and minimize any harms that our work might cause to human health, nature, climate, value chains, resources, and economic activity.
3. We commit to complying with all relevant sustainability regulations in the jurisdictions where we operate that relate to our activities. In jurisdictions where such regulations do not exist, we commit to applying global industry best practices where possible.
Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) and Certification
Recognising the critical importance of the credibility of the entire CDR ecosystem and the central role played by the process of certification of carbon removals,
We commit to ensuring that CDR activities we have influence or control over are monitored, reported on, and verified in a thorough, transparent and timely manner.
i. We (CDR technology and project developers) commit to retaining detailed records of our activities, such as storage locations, contracts, and other essential details.
ii. We commit to accounting accurately for the net removal effect of CDR considering activities across the full CDR value chain following life cycle analysis. Further, we commit to using conservative estimates of the impact of our CDR activities where there is uncertainty.
iii. We commit to using our influence in the broader CDR community to ensure that others who may not be signatories of these Commitments do the same.
2. We (CDR technology and project developers) commit to using scientifically robust MRV tools and processes according to their availability.
3. We (CDR technology and project developers) commit to using methodologies that are either peer-reviewed or compliant with applicable regulation where appropriate.
4. We commit to assessing the likely environmental and social impacts of our CDR activities, as well as taking measures to address negative impacts where reasonably practicable, and to requiring this of any CDR technology and project developers we work with.
5. We commit to working with credible partners, institutions, marketplaces, registries, certification schemes and other intermediaries as necessary for the accurate monitoring, reporting, and verification of our CDR activities.
6. We (CDR technology and project developers, buyers of CDR credits) commit to submitting to scrutiny by national authorities or standards and audit organisations that
i. are independent, expert, and appropriately accredited and/or regulated.
ii. ensure that CDR credits are aligned to robust quality and integrity criteria, as defined in relevant regulation and standards;
iii. require the collection of reliable, accurate and verifiable data in issuing CDR credits.
Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement
Wishing to ensure that human society succeeds in avoiding the worst effects of climate change and believing that this effort requires that society be well-informed and have a proper understanding of the nature of our activity, its purpose, and the scientific body of evidence around it (including any remaining scientific questions and risks that have been identified),
We commit to collaborating with others to develop the CDR industry to the scale required by the world’s scientific and political leadership.
We commit to engaging with other stakeholders about our work while reserving the right to protect commercially sensitive information, our intellectual property and trade secrets; in particular,
i. We (CDR technology and project developers) commit to engaging with local communities in places where we operate with a view to involving them in the decisions that impact them, so that they can derive potential benefits.
ii. We commit to supporting initiatives aiming at fostering the decentralized emergence of CDR projects where feasible, by sharing our knowledge and experiences with local authorities or consortia interested in implementing CDR locally.
iii. We commit to engaging with the broader scientific community, including but not limited to bona fide researchers seeking to gain understanding of our work.
iv. We commit to engaging with collective civil society organisations that adhere to and uphold key ethics principles of integrity, and climate justice.
v. We commit to engaging and cooperating with governments and other policy makers at different levels so as to encourage and support better regulation.
vi. We commit to fostering dialogue with the investor community so as to facilitate the investments that are critical for the growth of CDR to climate-relevant scale.
Justice, Human Rights and Equity
In the context of our engagement with local communities, and especially in cases where there are historically marginalized groups and disadvantaged communities in areas in which we operate, we commit to seeking to create opportunities for them to benefit from our activities.
In the context of our engagement with local communities, we commit to seeking to identify procedurally fair engagement processes.
We commit to engaging with local communities in a way that is proportionate to the potential local impacts.
Where negative outcomes have occurred as a direct result of our activities, we commit to working with communities towards rectifying them.
We commit to complying with applicable international human rights standards. Furthermore, we commit to explicitly considering the human rights implications of our CDR activities, including for example the impact on ecosystems and natural resources on which communities depend.
We commit to supporting the training and development of local workforce and fostering local employment opportunities where we have the means to do so.
Accountability
We commit to accepting public and private scrutiny of our CDR work in good faith, and in particular:
i. We commit to receiving good faith written feedback on our compliance with these commitments from any interested party.
ii. We commit to sharing feedback we might have with other signatories on their compliance with these commitments.
iii. We commit to remedying deficiencies in regard to compliance with these commitments in a timely and transparent manner where practicable.
Compliance with the law
We commit to compliance with all the legal and regulatory requirements that are applicable to our CDR activities.
Review
We commit to reviewing these Commitments within 24 months of the date of adoption by the Negative Emissions Platform and aproximately every 24 months thereafter, with a view to:
Commitments update
Updating commitments in light of best practice, regulatory requirements, or the advancement of scientific knowledge or ethics considerations;
Explanatory Memorandum update
Creating/updating the accompanying Explanatory Memorandum to provide context and explain & interpret commitments; and
Accountability update
Expanding accountability commitments
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