Technology-based carbon removal credits crucial if net-zero targets are to be met

The vast majority of 1.5°C-aligned scenarios require at least some carbon removal.

For example, the 2018 IPCC 1.5°C report states that “all pathways that limit global warming to 1.5°C with limited or no overshoot project the use of carbon dioxide removal.” The IPCC report estimates that the world will need cumulative carbon removal on the order of 100–1,000 Gt CO2 over the 21st century. Other reviews suggest needing 10 Gt CO2 of removal per year by 2050, and perhaps more than 20 Gt if thermal coal burning doesn’t drop fast enough.

All told, that means plenty of demand for carbon offsets. But as corporates are starting to discover, not all carbon offsets are made equally.

The Net Zero Tracker, compiled by a group of four non-profit organisations and research firms, tracks the environmental commitments published by the largest 2,000 publicly-traded companies in the world by revenue. As of early 2022 the tracker shows that 683 of them, a little over one-third have technically committed to a net-zero strategy.

Many of these net zero pledge are unlikely to make any real difference to operations of the companies concerned. That’s partly because many organisations fail to account for Scope 2 emissions (those produced by their own supply chains, despite being a significant source of carbon) and Scope 3 emissions (all other indirect emissions such as by the end user).