Introducing Carbon Removals at COP

A virtual pavilion dedicated to carbon removals has been launched ahead of COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Carbon Removals at COP will stream events and publish daily commentary on carbon removals during the international climate conference.

Curated by the Climate Champions Team, Carbon Gap, Open Air Collective, Rethinking Removals, and other partners, Carbon Removals at COP will provide regular updates on the latest thinking and developments around carbon removal during COP27. The platform will list physical and virtual events focused on carbon removals and live stream events to widen access to a global audience. Carbon removal is rising in prominence on the international stage. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has repeatedly affirmed that billions of tons of carbon removal are needed to avoid climate disaster and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Rather than competing with emissions reduction and climate change adaptation, carbon removal is increasingly seen as a vital and complementary third pillar of climate action.

The political importance of carbon removals is also increasing. Some countries in the Global South have signalled that developed countries should commit to cleaning up their historic emissions. The UNFCCC released a call for public input to shape how carbon removal fits into Article VI of the Paris Agreement (focused on voluntary carbon markets). The U.S. recently committed billions of dollars in funding to carbon removal, and countries are looking at the role it will play in their Nationally Determined Contributions.

There are more than 30 carbon removal events taking place during COP27, which include:

• FutureLabs at COP27 event, Carbon Removals: Pioneers from the Global South on 11th November platforms inspiring Global South actors, proving that carbon removals can happen anywhere whilst unpacking what it will take to scale these activities.
• At the Futures Lab, Nigel Topping, The UN Climate Change High Level Champion for COP26, will be launching the carbon removals 2030 Breakthrough: an ambitious goal to align around a shared vision of action.  The breakthroughs allow us to move from debate to action, outlining how each actor’s efforts (across supply, demand, finance, policy and civil society) contribute to the whole and what needs to be done to achieve it.
• Scaling durable carbon removals: what role for MRV and GHG accounting? on 11th November will focus on efforts to set clear and robust standards.
• Carbon Dioxide Removals: Accelerating the Journey to Net Zero on 8th November will explore what’s needed to drive carbon removal technologies at speed.
• Blue Climate Solutions on 17th November will consider the ocean’s role in the path to net negative emissions.
• In the green zone on 10th November, The Gift of the Rift will look at Kenya’s carbon removal opportunity.

The carbon removal community is vibrant and fast-growing. It includes Global South climate activists, policy-makers, tech companies, carbon market developers and leaders in hard-to-abate industries. We need a multi-pronged approach on a massive scale to ensure carbon removal is done effectively, fairly and responsibly.

As part of its efforts to promote a diversity of voices and technologies within the carbon removals industry, the Carbon Removals at COP platform has provided support to develop event concepts, identify and get speakers, livestream events and amplify messages.

To access the virtual pavilion, head to: http://carbonremovals.earth/

Gabrielle Walker, Co-Founder of Rethinking Removals said: “Getting carbon removals to scale with the quality and speed we need will take massive collaboration across the entire climate movement. This is a task for everyone who cares about closing the emissions gap and keeping 1.5 alive. Carbon Removals at COP is putting that into action.”

Megha Raghavan, Senior Advocate at Open Air Collective said: “Carbon Removals at COP seeks to increase the awareness and legitimacy of carbon removals during COP27. The science is clear, carbon removal is now an essential part of the urgent climate solution. The good news is that there is an active and diverse carbon removal ecosystem and our mission at COP27 is to shine a light on this so we can get carbon removals firmly on the COP agenda.”

Ashleigh Arton, Carbon Removals Lead at Climate Champions Team said: “Carbon Removals at COP is centred on our core values: science driven, equity focused and inclusive, empowering and hopeful, urgent and pragmatic. It is crucial that removals are about more than just sucking CO2 out of the atmosphere. Removals must support the goals of communities; restoring health, providing economic vitality, regenerating ecosystems, promoting social and environmental justice whilst increasing our resilience to the effects of climate change. The virtual pavilion provides the space to engage with and explore all aspects of carbon removals with our values front and centre.”

Eli Mitchell-Larsen, co-founder at Carbon Gap, Associate at Oxford Net Zero, “Carbon Removal, along with loss and damage, is the most neglected pillar of climate action. The window for capping warming at 1.5C is rapidly closing. To keep it open we must have urgently overdue conversations at COP27 that give clarity and momentum to carbon dioxide removals in 2023. It has been thrilling to collaboratively build and launch ‘Carbon Removals at COP’ with a community spanning the Global North and South, climate activists young and old, NGOs and companies. It is a reminder that, with a bedrock of diverse perspectives, we have the chance to do carbon removals right. That means scaling it in a way that is safe, effective and just”. 

For more information, please contact:

Fatema Chowdhury

Email: fatema.chowdhury@sqn.agency

Mobile: +44 7718 311142