British Airways has announced it has signed a deal to purchase more than £9 million ($12 million) worth of innovative carbon removal credits in the United Kingdom and overseas as part of a six-year agreement to accelerate the airline’s climate change efforts until 2030. Carbon removal is the process of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it safely for multiple decades and possibly centuries.
The airline has joined forces with CUR8, a UK-based company that specializes in sourcing high-quality carbon removal credits. As part of the deal between the parties, the airline will purchase 33,000 tonnes of carbon removal credits through its CUR8 portfolio. Although carbon removals are recognized by scientists, governments, and regulators as a vital tool in helping to address climate change, although it is widely acknowledged the sector needs to be scaled up urgently, says the airline.
British Airways’ removals portfolio includes a variety of approaches ranging from storing carbon in trees and soils to capturing carbon dioxide directly from the air and durably storing it underground or through enhanced rock weathering.
The airline will also purchase carbon removal credits from two companies specializing in high-durability reforestation projects, increasing the amount of forested land in Scotland and Wales. One ground-breaking scheme in Scotland will see CO2 emissions captured from whisky distilleries and repurposed into building materials. Another, spread across multiple locations in the UK, uses an enhanced rock weathering technique to lock away carbon for thousands of years.
The airline’s 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.
“As we approach the halfway point in this critical decade of action, we’re sharpening our focus on delivering real, tangible progress by 2030,” said Carrie Harris, Director of Sustainability at British Airways. We know flying has a significant impact on the planet, and achieving net zero by 2050 requires bold, innovative action today, as well as long-term transformation, and our latest investments in carbon removals reflect this commitment.
“While small in comparison to our total emissions, these projects are crucial in stimulating the carbon removal market. 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. There is no pathway to net zero for aviation without carbon removals” Harris added.
Largest airline deal so far
Combined with previous removals purchases made by the airline, this new investment makes British Airways the largest carbon removals purchaser in the UK and the largest purchasing airline of carbon removals, said the airline in a statement. Issued on September 23, 2024.
“British Airways 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’ve been proud to partner with this aviation leader to build a portfolio that combines the best of nature and human engineering, stretching from UK soils to the oceans and rivers of Canada.”
“At CUR8, we bring together the world’s leading scientists and climate software to help organizations source and manage carbon removals to help de-risk their net zero future. British Airways is a leading brand that recognizes that with this early investment, it can help to make an impact not only for themselves but for the industry at large.”
In 2019, British Airways became part of the first airline group to commit to net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner. According to the carrier, its 2030 focus includes “embedding a culture of sustainability across the business, by introducing new internal carbon reduction targets and launching a new sustainability learning program, to inform and inspire colleagues and identify further areas of improvement to help drive change.”
Roughly one-third of British Airways’ emissions reductions by 2050 will come from robust carbon reductions and removals in other sectors, added the airline.