Carbon180

Last updated
Carbon180
Formation 2015
FounderNoah Deich and Giana Amador
Founded at Berkeley, California
Legal status501(c)(3) organization
Headquarters Washington, D.C.
President
Noah Deich
Website https://carbon180.org/

Carbon180 is a nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. [1] In 2015, Giana Amador and Noah Deich co-founded the organization at the University of California, Berkeley. [1] [2] Carbon180 advocates for carbon dioxide removal solutions, including, but not limited to, direct air capture (DAC), forest carbon removal, and agricultural soil carbon. [3] [4] [5] Carbon180 engages with lawmakers, academic and science-based institutions, and businesses to fund and deploy carbon removal technologies and methods. [1] [6]

Contents

History

Launched in 2015 at the University of California, Berkeley, Carbon180 was formerly known as the Center for Carbon Removal until 2018. [1] [7] In 2017, the Center created the New Carbon Economy Consortium with research universities and national labs to conduct research, share knowledge, and build out pathways to deploy and scale carbon removal solutions. [8] [9] [10] Also in 2017, the Center helped advocate for amendments to the Section 45Q tax credit, specifically to include projects that involve DAC. [11] [12] The tax credit passed in the 2018 Bipartisan Budget Act. [13] In 2018, Carbon180 retained Cassidy and Associates for a short time and in 2020, retained the Coefficient Group to lobby and engage with congressional offices on climate legislation. [5]

Carbon180 has received the attention of celebrities as Grimes, Halsey, and Odesza have all pledged to donate a percentage of their NFT proceeds to the organization. [14] [15] Grimes has pledged a portion of her proceeds from physical artwork as well. [14]

Activities

Carbon180's main activities pertain to federal policy advocacy, the New Carbon Economy Consortium, and the Leading with Soil Initiative. [1] The organization also provides fact sheets and deep dives describing various approaches to carbon removal. [16] [17]

Federal policy advocacy

The nonprofit supports legislation related to carbon dioxide removal, such as H.R.7434 - Federal Carbon Dioxide Removal Leadership Act of 2022, and is advocating for carbon removal solutions (e.g., soil carbon) as the U.S. Congress considers the 2023 Farm Bill. [18] [19] [20] [21] Carbon180 recently shared its outlook for DAC implementation with the U.S. Department of Energy as the agency moves forward with the Regional Direct Air Capture Hubs program. [22]

New Carbon Economy Consortium

Launched in 2017, the Consortium includes representatives from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Arizona State University, University of Wyoming, Colorado State University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Howard University, Purdue University, University of British Columbia, University of California, Berkeley, University of Wyoming, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Global CO2 Initiative, and Carbon180. [23] The Consortium has hosted workshops to outline and develop a multi-disciplinary research agenda to understand the human, environmental, and economic implications of a new carbon economy. [8] [24] [10]

Leading with Soil Initiative

Carbon180 views soil carbon sequestration as a viable climate solution and has published a report entitled, Soil Carbon Moonshot: Grounding Carbon Storage in Science, which proposes a $2.3 billion interagency effort to research and scale soil carbon practices. [20] [25] [26] [27]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon sink</span> Reservoir absorbing more carbon from than emitting to the air

A carbon sink is anything, natural or otherwise, that accumulates and stores some carbon-containing chemical compound for an indefinite period and thereby removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. These sinks form an important part of the natural carbon cycle. An overarching term is carbon pool, which is all the places where carbon can be. A carbon sink is a type of carbon pool that has the capability to take up more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate engineering</span> Deliberate and large-scale intervention in the Earth’s climate system

Climate engineering is a term used for both carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation management, also called solar geoengineering, when applied at a planetary scale. However, they have very different geophysical characteristics which is why the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change no longer uses this overarching term. Carbon dioxide removal approaches are part of climate change mitigation. Solar geoengineering involves reflecting some sunlight back to space. All forms of geoengineering are not a standalone solution to climate change, but need to be coupled with other forms of climate change mitigation. Another approach to geoengineering is to increase the Earth's thermal emittance through passive radiative cooling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coal pollution mitigation</span> Attempts to mitigate the health and environmental impact of coal

Coal Pollution Mitigation, sometimes also known as Clean Coal, is a series of systems and technologies that seek to mitigate health and environmental impact of coal; in particular air pollution from coal-fired power stations, and from coal burnt by heavy industry. Clean Coal primarily focuses on removing sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), the most important gasses which cause acid rain; and particulates which cause visible air pollution, illness, and premature deaths. It also reduces fly ash and reduces emissions of radioactive materials. Mercury emissions can be reduced up to 95%. Capturing carbon dioxide emissions from coal is also being pursued.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon capture and storage</span> Collecting carbon dioxide from industrial emissions

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a process in which a relatively pure stream of carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial sources is separated, treated and transported to a long-term storage location. For example, the carbon dioxide stream that is to be captured can result from burning fossil fuels or biomass. Usually the CO2 is captured from large point sources, such as a chemical plant or biomass plant, and then stored in an underground geological formation. The aim is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and thus mitigate climate change. The IPCC's most recent report on mitigating climate change describes CCS retrofits for existing power plants as one of the ways to limit emissions from the electricity sector and meet Paris Agreement goals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon sequestration</span> Storing carbon in a carbon pool (natural as well as enhanced or artificial processes)

Carbon sequestration is the process of storing carbon in a carbon pool. Carbon sequestration is a naturally occurring process but it can also be enhanced or achieved with technology, for example within carbon capture and storage projects. There are two main types of carbon sequestration: geologic and biologic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgin Earth Challenge</span>

The Virgin Earth Challenge was a competition offering a $25 million prize for whoever could demonstrate a commercially viable design which results in the permanent removal of greenhouse gases out of the Earth's atmosphere to contribute materially in global warming avoidance. The prize was conceived by Richard Branson, and was announced in London on 9 February 2007 by Branson and former US Vice President Al Gore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deforestation in Nigeria</span>

Deforestation in Nigeria refers to the extensive and rapid clearing of forests within the borders of Nigeria. This environmental issue has gained significant attention due to its far-reaching consequences on both local and global scales. Deforestation estimates in Nigeria stand at 5 to 6% per year. From 1979 to 1995, the regional breakdown of deforestation in Nigeria shows deforestation by 12% in the South-West, 13% in the South-South, 53% in the South-East, 60% in the North-West, 7% in the North-East, and 48% in the North Central. As of the year 2000, the forest cover of Nigeria was put at 13.5 million hectares when place side by side to 17.5 million hectares in 1990, showing a deforestation of 400 thousand hectares per annum or a percentage decline of 2.6%. Nigerian woodlands and forest currently stand at only 13% of the total land area

The milestones for carbon capture and storage show the lack of commercial scale development and implementation of CCS over the years since the first carbon tax was imposed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon dioxide removal</span> Removal of atmospheric carbon dioxide through human activity

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR), also known as carbon removal, greenhouse gas removal (GGR) or negative emissions, is a process in which carbon dioxide gas is removed from the atmosphere by deliberate human activities and durably stored in geological, terrestrial, or ocean reservoirs, or in products. In the context of net zero greenhouse gas emissions targets, CDR is increasingly integrated into climate policy, as an element of climate change mitigation strategies. Achieving net zero emissions will require both deep cuts in emissions and the use of CDR. CDR can counterbalance emissions that are technically difficult to eliminate, such as some agricultural and industrial emissions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage</span>

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is the process of extracting bioenergy from biomass and capturing and storing the carbon, thereby removing it from the atmosphere. BECCS can be a "negative emissions technology" (NET). The carbon in the biomass comes from the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) which is extracted from the atmosphere by the biomass when it grows. Energy ("bioenergy") is extracted in useful forms (electricity, heat, biofuels, etc.) as the biomass is utilized through combustion, fermentation, pyrolysis or other conversion methods.

Enhanced weathering, also termed ocean alkalinity enhancement when proposed for carbon credit systems, is a process that aims to accelerate the natural weathering by spreading finely ground silicate rock, such as basalt, onto surfaces which speeds up chemical reactions between rocks, water, and air. It also removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, permanently storing it in solid carbonate minerals or ocean alkalinity. The latter also slows ocean acidification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue carbon</span> Carbon stored in coastal and marine ecosystems

Blue carbon is a term used in the climate change mitigation context that refers to "biologically driven carbon fluxes and storage in marine systems that are amenable to management." Most commonly, it refers to the role that tidal marshes, mangroves and seagrasses can play in carbon sequestration. Such ecosystems can contribute to climate change mitigation and also to ecosystem-based adaptation. When blue carbon ecosystems are degraded or lost they release carbon back to the atmosphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon Engineering</span> Canadian company

Carbon Engineering Ltd. is a Canadian-based clean energy company focusing on the commercialization of direct air capture (DAC) technology that captures carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate change in Oklahoma</span> Climate change in the US state of Oklahoma

Climate change in Oklahoma encompasses the effects of climate change, attributed to man-made increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon capture and utilization</span>

Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) is the process of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial processes and transporting it via pipelines to where one intends to use it in industrial processes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Direct air capture</span> Method of carbon capture from carbon dioxide in air

Direct air capture (DAC) is the use of chemical or physical processes to extract carbon dioxide directly from the ambient air. If the extracted CO2 is then sequestered in safe long-term storage, the overall process will achieve carbon dioxide removal and be a "negative emissions technology" (NET). As of 2023, DAC has yet to become profitable because the cost of using DAC to sequester carbon dioxide is several times the carbon price.

Climeworks AG is a Swiss company specializing in direct air capture (DAC) technology. The company filters CO2 directly from the ambient air through an adsorption-desorption process. At its first commercial direct air capture and storage plant, Orca, in Hellisheidi, Iceland, the air-captured CO2 is handed over to storage partner Carbfix, who injects it deep underground where it mineralizes and turns into stone. Climeworks’s machines run on renewable energy or energy-from-waste and re-emit less than 10% of the carbon dioxide they capture.

CarbonCure Technologies is a manufacturer of carbon removal or carbon utilization technologies that inject captured carbon dioxide into concrete where it is permanently stored. The company was founded in 2012 by Robert Niven, and the company headquarters are in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The Carbon Connect Delta Program is a proposed carbon sequestration program to aid Belgium and the Netherlands in achieving carbon neutrality by 2030. It aims to capture, transport, and store 6.5 million tones of CO2 by 2030 using Carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the transboundary area of the North Sea Port area of the Scheldt-Delta region connecting Belgium and the Netherlands.

Biochar carbon removal (BCR) is a negative emissions technology. It involves the production of biochar through pyrolysis of residual biomass and the subsequent application of the biochar in soils or durable materials. The carbon dioxide sequestered by the plants used for the biochar production is therewith stored for several hundreds of years, which creates carbon sinks.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Carbon180". Carbon180. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  2. ↑ "Can Carbon-Dioxide Removal Save the World?". The New Yorker. 2017-11-13. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
  3. ↑ "Deep Dives". Carbon180. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  4. ↑ Meyer, Robinson (2021-03-23). "Why Celebrities Are Agog Over This Tiny Climate Think Tank". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  5. 1 2 Geman, Ben (2020-07-07). "Nonprofit Carbon180 brings on The Coefficient Group for new carbon removal lobbying". Axios. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  6. ↑ Schulz, Benjamin (2022-01-27). "Interview With Carbon180 Co-Founder Noah Deich". CleanTechnica. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
  7. ↑ Harder, Amy (2018-09-12). "Carbon removal group rebrands as tech gains steam". Axios. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  8. 1 2 "New Carbon Economy Consortium: Building research programs to support 21st Century economic opportunity". Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  9. ↑ Lucci, Felicia R.; Deich, Noah; Aines, Roger D. (2019-02-07). "New Carbon Economy Corporate Roundtable: Carbon Conversion to Valuable Products". doi:10.2172/1499966. OSTI   1499966. S2CID   169212834.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. 1 2 "New Carbon Economy Consortium". Carbon180. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  11. ↑ "26 U.S. Code § 45Q - Credit for carbon oxide sequestration". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  12. ↑ Center for Carbon Removal. "2017 Annual Report" (PDF). carbon180.org. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  13. ↑ Larson, John B. (2018-02-09). "Text - H.R.1892 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2022-04-17.
  14. 1 2 Meyer, Robinson (2021-03-23). "Why Celebrities Are Agog Over This Tiny Climate Think Tank". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  15. ↑ Kastrenakes, Jacob (2021-03-01). "Grimes sold $6 million worth of digital art as NFTs". The Verge. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  16. ↑ "Resources". Carbon180. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  17. ↑ "Carbon Removal Advocates Face Opportunity and Challenge: Public Support, if Not Understanding". Morning Consult. 2020-12-03. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  18. ↑ Tonko, Paul (2022-04-07). "Text - H.R.7434 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Federal Carbon Dioxide Removal Leadership Act of 2022". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  19. ↑ "Rep. Peters Answers Urgent Call Made by UN Climate Report, Introduces Carbon Dioxide Removal Legislation". Congressman Scott Peters. 2022-04-08. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  20. 1 2 "Soil 'Moonshot' Boosters Target Farm Bill to Aid Climate Fight". Bloomberg Government. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  21. ↑ "Federal Policy". Carbon180. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  22. ↑ Freedman, Andrew (2022-05-03). "Influential nonprofit works to shape federal funding for direct air capture hubs". Axios. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  23. ↑ "New Carbon Economy Consortium". newcarboneconomy.org. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
  24. ↑ "D.C. workshop explores dimensions of new carbon economy". Cornell Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-04-24.
  25. ↑ "Carbon storage gets dirty: The movement to sequester CO2 in soils". Canary Media. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
  26. ↑ Zoebisch, Cristel (March 2022). "Soil Carbon Moonshot: Grounding Carbon Storage in Science" (PDF). carbon180.org. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Leading with Soil". Carbon180. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
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