Beyond carbon
Removall Carbon
Project developer designing high-quality certified carbon offset projects, supporting companies in their Net Zero target
The urgency to act on all fronts
IT’S TIME TO LOOK BEYOND CARBON
Anthropogenic climate change is an indisputable reality. To limit the temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels as expressed in the Paris Agreement target, economic actors must act urgently in favour of a net zero carbon world.
The necessary changes are difficult to implement – however, many organizations are already taking actions by measuring their carbon footprint, implementing internal reduction efforts and mitigating impacts through beyond-value-chain investments. And for years now, Removall has supported some of the most ambitious climate actions for its customers.
Still, carbon impacts are a fraction of the global picture. 70% of vertebrates have disappeared since 1970[1], and biodiversity is degrading at a rate 1,000 times higher than natural extinction rates. Plastic production will triple by 2060[2], while 9% only of all plastics ever produced has been recycled. It endangers wildlife and human health by polluting our food chain: each one of us ingests the equivalent of one credit card of microplastics per week globally.
Biodiversity degradation and plastic pollution result in growing inequalities, neglecting indigenous peoples living in preserved areas or informal collectors working on openly burnt dumpsites. 6 out of the 9 planetary boundaries[3] have already been reached, and this could lead to an irreversible pivot point. There is no time to waste: we must now look beyond carbon for tackling all the environmental and social pressing issues at the same time.
CARBON, BIODIVERSITY, PLASTICS & PEOPLE: EVERYTHING IS LINKED
For too long, nature has been a peripheral part of the climate conversation – until people became aware of the closed links between them. WWF is talking about the Climate, Biodiversity and People nexus[4]: environmental impacts are linked, and should always be considered holistically.
First, climate change is having irreversible impacts on nature. Frozen landscapes are melting, forests are burning, and coral reefs are dying and the impacts are expected to get worse as temperatures rise to 1.5°C and beyond. It endangers most of biodiversity ecosystems, derailing a long-standing balance.
Biodiversity, on the contrary, is essential for sequestrating carbon emissions and hoping to reach a Net-Zero equilibrium by 2050. Nature-based solutions are the lungs of the Earth, relying on our forests and oceans. Yet, these ecosystems are being put at risk both by climate change and plastic pollution. As an example, coral reefs face extinction because of diseases spread through plastic pollution and climate-driven bleaching effects. Pristine environments such as polar regions now have substantial microplastics in their ecosystems. On snow and ice, microplastics can decrease surface albedo, therefore accelerating the melting.
Ocean plastic pollution could also worsen climate change, with a recent scientific study showing that phytoplanktons are at risk due to microplastics[5] – which could lower the ocean carbon sink capacity. On the production side, virgin plastics are still mostly fossil-based, and could account for 15% of the carbon budget by 2050.
Most of those environmental impacts rely on anthropogenic causes that’s why we must set ambitious measures. Acting on all fronts will benefit to all fronts: Climate Change, Biodiversity degradation, Plastic Pollution and People.
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ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS ARE EVOLVING FAST, AT EVERY SCALE
More than half the world’s GDP is based on the ecosystem services provided by Nature – and most countries are aware of this. The World Economic Forum ranks nature 4th among the top ten long-term business risks[6]: it means that business-as-usual activities are no longer possible as nature loss will, on the long term, affect the whole economy. According to the Global Biodiversity Framework[7], the biodiversity finance gap is estimated at $700 bn a year between now and 2030. In contrast, private sector participation in 2023 into the fast-growing biodiversity finance market has reached record heights at $ 1 bn… meaning that there is still a long way to go.
That is why environmental regulations are moving fast, with key milestones reached in recent years. In November 2022, the Biodiversity COP16 of Kunming-Montreal produced the Global Biodiversity Framework, as one of the most ambitious international regulations so far.
During the Global Stocktake at COP28 in November 2023 – the first assessment of Climate Actions since the Paris Agreement of 2015 - the interdependence of biodiversity and climate was recognised for the “first time”, with Nature-related announcements and outcomes firmly in the spotlight. The negotiations for a legally binding UN Plastics Treaty are also underway, with few working sessions laying ahead.
Regulations are intensifying at every scale. Europe is implementing ambitious Directives (CSRD, EU Taxonomy, Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation…), and the French government is taking concrete actions (Climate and Resilience law, Stratégie Nationale Biodiversité 3, AGEC law on plastics…). Companies must set ambitious environmental strategies to anticipate potentially binding regulatory measures in the near future.
REMOVALL: THE IMPACT INVESTMENT SPECIALIST
As the regulatory landscape is evolving fast and as in-house actions can take some time, Removall is proposing a new holistic environmental approach for corporates to take action now by financing carbon, plastics and biodiversity impact projects. Contributing to Nature in parallel with internal reduction impact strategies is a guarantee to:
Removall’s vision is to “accelerate together the development of solutions with a high positive impact on climate, communities and biodiversity". The development of such new innovative investment tools was therefore an evidence.
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