To avoid the worst effects of climate change, we must focus not only on reducing carbon emissions, but also removing carbon dioxide already present in the environment. So, today, we’re announcing a new partnership with Stripe, Alphabet, Shopify and McKinsey Sustainability to launch Frontier — an advanced market commitment (AMC) to accelerate the development of carbon removal technologies. An AMC signals to researchers, entrepreneurs and investors that there is strong demand for their product. Collectively, we’ve committed an initial $925 million to purchase carbon removal tons from companies building promising new solutions over the next nine years. Purchasing carbon removal tons involves investing in projects that remove greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere. This effort reinforces our commitment to reaching net zero emissions across our value chain by 2030.
We believe that by collaborating to find technologies with the greatest long-term carbon removal potential and helping them scale, we can help accelerate the solutions needed to meet global climate goals. Collaboration with globally renowned organizations — nonprofits, businesses and civil society — is an essential part of our sustainability strategy and is key to making a difference.
The AMC model was successfully piloted a decade ago to accelerate the development of vaccines for low-income countries, saving an estimated 700,000 lives. This is the first time the model is being applied to carbon removal at scale, and these technologies are in the earlier stages of development. They are currently expensive, untested at scale and new to carbon markets. We hope that our investment in Frontier will provide us with carbon removal tons that we can apply to our net zero goal. Critically, our first steps will be to:
- Work to support the development of new monitoring and verification methods
- Set new standards for climate justice and social and environmental outcomes in technological removal
Contributing to a Healthy Carbon Market
Accelerating the development of new technologies is only a part of our commitment to carbon removal. The majority of carbon removal takes place naturally when trees and soils absorb and hold carbon in their biomass. We purchase credits from forest restoration, agroforestry, grasslands management and sustainable farming projects that also create vitally important carbon removal. Doing so provides important ecosystem services and supports local communities dependent on the trees and soils for their livelihoods.
Our approach to tackling climate change embraces the importance of a full range of solutions, from those implemented by local farmers to the giant fans pulling carbon dioxide out of the air. No matter the solution, we are committed to high integrity projects that provide local benefits, are safe and responsible in their use of resources and involve local communities.
