Climeworks Issues Its First Carbon Credits in a Sign of Carbon Market Maturity

Recently, Climeworks, operator of the Orca carbon dioxide removal and storage plant in Iceland, successfully achieved third-party certification of its carbon removal activities under the Puro Standard – a first in the direct air capture (DAC) industry.

On the fifth anniversary of Puro.earth’s founding and the third anniversary of its partnership with Nasdaq, these new Carbon Dioxide Removal Certificates (CORCs) are an important sign that rigorous qualifications and legitimacy are beginning to permeate voluntary carbon markets.

“The launch of Orca, the world’s first direct air capture and storage plant, represents an important milestone in making permanent negative emissions available at scale to the carbon markets,” said Fredrik Ekström, Chairman of Puro.earth and Nasdaq Stockholm. “We are very excited that Climeworks now has issued the world’s first direct air capture carbon removal certificates certified under the Puro Standard, the leading standard and registry for engineered carbon removals.”

A Standard That Means Something

The Puro Standard, Puro.earth’s standard for engineered carbon removal methods, is designed to promote integrity and durability in the voluntary carbon removal market. It’s endorsed by the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA).

Puro.earth’s CORCs are fully compliant with the ICROA Code of Best Practice and evaluated by an independent advisory board chaired by Professor Myles Allen of Oxford University. They are also tracked in Puro.earth’s registry throughout their life cycle – from issuance to retirement – to ensure their durability and prevent double-counting.

Puro.earth’s methodology focuses on engineered carbon removal, a long-lasting method that removes carbon from the atmosphere for at least a century. Puro.earth’s DAC carbon removal certification is even more extensive, only endorsing removals that last over 1,000 years.

Climeworks “chose to work on this with Puro.earth as their standard is unique, robust, and fitting with its focus on engineered CDR [carbon dioxide removal] methods,” according to a press release.

How the Carbon Trap Is Set

“To mitigate climate impact, we need suppliers representing a mixture of carbon removal technologies to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in a durable way to complement companies’ own efforts to minimize their carbon footprint,” said Ekström. “Direct air capture represents a new and powerful technology to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in a durable manner.”

At the Orca plant, Climeworks relies on collector containers to capture carbon dioxide straight from the air.

Then, using Carbfix’s mineralization methods, the carbon dioxide is dissolved in water and injected into reactive rock formations underground, where it turns into stable minerals and remains permanently stored.

Restoring Trust to Carbon Markets

Puro.earth’s certification of the Orca plant is a significant step forward. “Climate action and policy are only as effective as the rigor with which the implemented solutions are measured, reported, and verified towards climate goals,” said Christoph Beuttler, Chief Climate Policy Officer at Climeworks in a press release.

“Certification is an essential step to allow DAC credits to enter carbon markets,” Beuttler said. “It allows our technology to become even more actionable as a climate solution, opening the door for new considerations beyond the voluntary market.”

Joining the Fight Against Climate Change

More verified carbon dioxide removals being sold on the markets will enable direct air capture and other climate mitigation technologies to grow.

“Companies can purchase carbon removals to compensate for residual emissions – as in, emissions not possible to reduce – in order to meet their net-zero targets,” Ekström said.

Each CORC based on the Puro Standard corresponds to a one ton of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere. When a company purchases one of the new carbon removal certificates, they are essentially buying that amount of carbon dioxide removed by the Orca plant.

They can then use that carbon removal to offset their own emissions, while their purchase finances the issuer’s carbon removal mission. Puro.earth records in its registry each individual carbon removal certificate from issuance to retirement – including purchases, sales, and businesses’ sustainability claims – to ensure full traceability.

In an ever-changing landscape of climate legislation and sustainability reporting requirements, verified carbon removal certificates serve as a more accessible avenue for businesses to support the mitigation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Puro.earth and Nasdaq’s partnership is helping businesses to feel confident in the impact of their climate mitigation strategies.