Act Beyond Value Chain

Tech-based-solutions are those that use technological means to address climate change. There are a wide range of possible solutions, that can lead to a reduction of fossil emissions, avoidance of fossil fuel usage or removal of carbon. They also can come with a wide range of co-benefits – typically associated with the sustainable development goals 8 and 9 (decent work & economic growth, and industry, innovation & infrastructure).

Reduction and avoidance

Much of the early purchases in the voluntary carbon market have been made into tech-based-solutions that lead to avoidance of fossil fuels. These include activities such as deploying renewable energy and improving energy efficiency. These may be key to helping scale the associated technologies in the global south in the short-term, however, as policies evolve, proving the additionality of these projects—meaning showing they make a real difference in reducing emissions beyond what would have occurred naturally—may become challenging. This could affect their credibility and ability to meet integrity standards in the long term. This will be explained further in the section take action beyond your value chain.

Another subset of TbS are where projects lead to the reduction of fossil emissions with long-term storage – namely through the use of point-source Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) on industrial facilities or power stations. Only 43Mtpa of carbon is being captured and stored at present, though it is predicted to be needed at gigatonne scale (3). Much of the early progress in scaling CCS is being made through joint public-private investments, though the sale of carbon credits provides a promising way to finance these projects – particularly in the global south. As with renewable energy solutions, it may become increasingly difficult for these to meet additionality criteria over-time, however it does provide a means for industrial companies to help contribute to the global scale up of the technology that it may be dependent on.

Remove

The most future-focused tech-based-solutions are removals. There are a wide range of TbS removals, including biochar carbon removal (BCR), bioenergy with CCS (BECCS), direct air capture and storage (DACCS), enhanced rock weathering, amongst others. These come with a wide range of attributes and potential durabilities. Some of these solutions offer potential durabilities of beyond tens of thousands of years. Although SBTi have yet to define a standard to back up their definition of permanence for emissions neutralization, these solutions are likely to play a key role. Ultimately, geological storage of carbon is key to permanently mitigating any residual fossil fuel emissions and permanently stabilizing the climate beyond net zero. Read integrate carbon dioxide removal into climate strategy for more information on removal.