British Airways announces major investment in carbon removal credits through partner CUR8

British Airways is to purchase more than £9 million ($12m) worth of carbon removal credits in the UK and overseas as part of a six-year agreement with partner CUR8. The airline says the procurement of 33,000 tonnes of credits through its CUR8 portfolio makes it the largest carbon removals purchaser in the UK and the largest in the airline sector to date. It describes carbon removal as the process of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it safely for multiple decades and, ideally, centuries. The investment is part of a drive to accelerate BA’s climate change efforts towards 2030 and its wider plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The airline forecasts that around one third of all its emissions reductions by 2050 will need to come from carbon removals. British Airways has also announced it has become a Global Alliance Member of The Earthshot Prize, founded by Prince William, which is awarded to five winners each year for their contributions towards environmentalism.

The carbon removal credits will come from projects in the UK, Canada and India. One scheme in Scotland will see CO2 emissions captured from whisky distilleries and repurposed into building materials and another, in multiple locations in the UK, uses an enhanced rock weathering technique to lock away carbon for thousands of years. Credits will also come from two companies specialising in “high-durability” reforestation projects that will increase the amount of forested land in Scotland and Wales.

The portfolio also includes Canadian carbon capture projects, which focus on carbon removal from rivers and oceans using alkaline rock particles, while in India, the airline is backing a biochar project that empowers female farmers while enhancing soil biodiversity and farm yields.

“While small in comparison to our total emissions, these projects are crucial in stimulating the carbon removals market,” said Carrie Harris, Director of Sustainability at British Airways. “By supporting pioneering solutions, we’re not only contributing to immediate progress but also laying the groundwork for the large-scale changes needed to meet our climate goals.”

In addition to the partnerships facilitated by CUR8, BA has also purchased a small number of carbon removal credits from Switzerland’s Climeworks, which operates the world’s two largest Direct Air Capture (DAC) plants in Iceland, with plans to expand internationally, and US-based 1PointFive that is developing a DAC plant in Texas.

Carbon removals are recognised by scientists, governments and regulators as a vital tool in helping to address climate change, insists the airline, “but the sector needs to be scaled up urgently”. Adds Harris: “There is no pathway to net zero for aviation without carbon removals.”

London-based CUR8 creates portfolios of carbon removal projects for clients such as Coca Cola and Standard Chartered Bank, as well as British Airways.

“The airline understands that carbon removals are not a nice-to-have, but an essential part of the aviation sector’s net zero journey,” said Marta Krupinska, CEO of CUR8. “We bring together the world’s leading scientists and climate software to help organisations source and manage carbon removals to help de-risk their net zero future. British Airways is a leading brand that recognises that with this early investment, it can help to make an impact not only for themselves but for the industry at large.”

According to carbon removal market reporting organisation CDR.fyi, airlines that have also embarked on the carbon removal credit purchase journey include All Nippon Airways, American Airlines and Virgin Atlantic.

Past recipients of The Earthshot Prize include carbon recycling company Lanzatech, which works with British Airways’ sustainable aviation fuel partner LanzaJet, and Notpla, a company specialising in biodegradable packaging that the airline has recently partnered with.

“By working with The Earthshot Prize, British Airways will be supporting the discovery, investment and acceleration of innovative and scalable solutions for people and the planet, ranging from alternative fuels to reducing single-use plastics,” commented the airline. “We hope to explore further collaborations with future prize winners.”

Photo: British Airways

Christopher Surgenor

Editor

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In association with British Airways, a deep-dive session on Carbon Removals will be held during Aviation Carbon 2024