Why nature alone can’t solve the climate crisis?
When it comes to addressing the climate crisis, the idea of planting more trees or relying on “passive sinks” like soil and oceans is often heralded as the simplest, most natural solution. After all, trees grow, absorb carbon dioxide, and seem to offer a perfect answer to emissions.
But as a recent Bloomberg article aptly pointed out:
More trees won’t cancel out your SUV emissions – and they won’t solve the scale of our global climate problem either.
This critical perspective underscores a growing consensus: while nature-based carbon removal (CDR) solutions are vital, they aren’t enough on their own.
To meet the urgent need for net-negative emissions and keep the 1.5°C target within reach, we must embrace scalable, technology-driven solutions including but not limited to Direct Air Capture (DAC).
At Climeworks, we believe that DAC is an essential complement and that all high-quality carbon removal solutions working together enable the right mix of durability, scalability, measurability, and cost-effectiveness for maximum impact.
The limits of nature-based solutions
Nature-based solutions such as reforestation are critical tools in the fight against climate change. However, they face limitations:
Land use conflicts: planting forests at the scale required for global net zero could compete with food production and biodiversity conservation.
Lack of permanence: forests are vulnerable to wildfires, pests, and land-use changes, potentially re-releasing CO₂ back into the atmosphere.
Finite capacity: natural sinks are already absorbing a significant share of anthropogenic emissions, but their capacity is limited.
While trees and other natural solutions play an important role, they’re not sufficient to “erase” the emissions from sectors like transportation or heavy industry.
Why is Technology-Driven Carbon Removal essential?
This is where Climeworks carbon removal solutions come in.
Take the in-house Direct Air Capture solution developed by Climeworks as an example:
Permanence: once captured, CO₂ is stored underground, where it turns into stone in the case of the mineralization process at our facilities in Iceland – a process certified by independent third-party Puro.Earth.
Scalability: facilities like Climeworks’ Mammoth plant, the world’s largest of its kind, are built to scale with a limited land footprint, ensuring we can meet global removal targets.
Additionality: DAC captures CO₂ directly from the air, no matter where the emissions originated. In doing so it addresses both residual and historical emissions, complementing drastic emission reduction targets and required nature-based approaches. If the facility is not built, the CO₂ is not removed. If you build it, the CO₂ removed that way would otherwise have remained in the atmosphere.
As a global leader in DAC and carbon removal, Climeworks has demonstrated that high-quality, technology-driven carbon removal can complement nature’s efforts, rather than compete with them. Together, these solutions provide a holistic approach to climate action.
Climeworks Pioneers: making carbon removal accessible to all
While large-scale DAC projects like Mammoth and Cypress require significant investments and corporate off-takers lead the charge, Climeworks believes that high-quality carbon removal should be accessible to everyone – individuals, small businesses, and global corporations alike.
That’s why we pioneered an online service to purchase carbon removals via Direct Air Capture over 5 years ago.
Soon, Climeworks will launch a new product designed to empower individuals and organizations to directly purchase high-quality carbon removals from Climeworks, bringing nature and technology solutions together.
A call for collective action
The climate crisis demands urgency, ambition, and a willingness to embrace every tool in our arsenal.
Nature-based solutions remain an important part of the picture, but as science and evidence consistently show, they must be complemented by high-quality, novel approaches.
Together, these solutions can help us achieve net-negative emissions – not just as an abstract goal but as a measurable, trackable reality.
Are you ready to join the movement?
With Climeworks Pioneers, you can directly support carbon removal solutions and join a community of like-minded people and organizations who are driving change.
Whether you’re an individual, a small business, or part of a global enterprise, Climeworks invites you to be part of the solution. Because solving the climate crisis isn’t about choosing one path over another – it’s about choosing every path that works.