Key take-aways
Scientists and opinion leaders agree that direct air capture and storage is needed to fight climate change and the technology needs to be scaled up as soon as possible
The Economist Group is the first media group to include carbon dioxide removal in its sustainability strategy with Climeworks’ scalable and permanent solution, joining industry leaders such as Microsoft
The Economist has addressed the need for direct air capture for several years in its coverage
Climeworks extends its carbon dioxide removal service to a new industry with The Economist Group
Scientists and opinion leaders agree that direct air capture and storage is needed to stop climate change. After covering the topic in detail, The Economist Group is taking climate action and proactively supporting the scale-up of direct air capture by purchasing Climeworks’ carbon dioxide removal while focusing on drastically reducing its own carbon emissions. Currently, the amount of CO₂ removed will equate to 13% of The Economist Group’s Scope 1 & 2 emissions in 2019, leading the way to carbon dioxide removal becoming an important component in The Economist Group’s sustainability strategy.
Our carbon budget is running out
In order to mitigate climate change, we do not only need to reduce emissions but also permanently remove unavoidable and historic CO₂ emissions from the air. All identified pathways by the IPCC to limit global warming to 1.5 °C rely on large-scale applications of carbon dioxide removal technologies like direct air capture by the end of the century. Climeworks’ direct air capture and storage is a scalable solution that can remove carbon dioxide from the air in a permanent and safe way and does not compete with arable land.
Scaling up will bring down costs
In 2017, The Economist pointed out that “greenhouse gases must be scrubbed from the air” and emphasized the scientific consensus outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement. The Economist also addressed the fact that direct air capture does not come without its challenges and needs to be scaled up rapidly in order to bring down costs. As The Economist outlined in September 2020, “which technologies and firms flourish, will depend to a large degree on getting the right pattern of regulations, subsidy and pricing”. Now, The Economist Group is the first media group to include Climeworks' carbon dioxide removal in its sustainability strategy, joining other industry leaders like Microsoft.
Four years ago, the costs of carbon dioxide removal were considered too high to be commercially viable. However, Climeworks is the first direct air capture company to offer the service of carbon dioxide removal to everyone – and in doing so, proves that a market for measurable and permanent carbon dioxide removal exists. Pioneering customers like The Economist Group enable Climeworks to pursue its scale-up and become climate-relevant faster.
Lara Boro, CEO, The Economist Group
"Investing in carbon removal with Climeworks is a complementary feature of The Economist Group's sustainability strategy, as our primary focus is on emissions reduction. We believe that nascent technologies, such as direct-air capture, will be an important component in the mix of solutions for global emissions to reach net zero by 2050 and it lies in our nature to press for progress."
Christoph Gebald, co-CEO and co-founder of Climeworks
"We are very grateful that our technology is a key component in The Economist Group’s sustainability strategy. To see that opinion leaders are walking the talk is an important and inspirational step in the fight against climate change.”
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