Verdane to neutralize all future residual emissions with engineered carbon removals

●  The newest report by the IPCC has confirmed once again that carbon dioxide removal is essential for mitigating climate change

●  Equity investor Verdane has announced its commitment to neutralize all its future residual emissions with engineered, permanent carbon removals

●  By supporting Climeworks, Heirloom and neustark, Verdane aims to catalyze demand for crucial net zero technologies that urgently need to be scaled and brought down the cost curve

●  Verdane has set a target to achieve net zero scope 1-2 emissions in 2022 and reduce scope 3 emissions intensity (all scope 3 emissions except portfolio company emissions) by 65% until 2030 versus 2021

The latest report by the IPCC has confirmed that carbon dioxide removal is essential to limit global warming to 1.5°C. In addition to drastic emissions reductions, carbon removal solutions need to be deployed at scale to remove historic and residual CO₂ emissions to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, and eventually net-negative emissions.

Verdane, the European specialist growth equity investor, has announced its commitment to neutralize all its future residual emissions with engineered, permanent carbon removals, including Climeworks’ direct air capture and storage solution. As the first private equity investor globally to make this commitment, Verdane aims to catalyze demand for crucial net zero technologies that urgently need to be scaled and brought down the cost curve.

In addition to Climeworks, Verdane is also partnering with Heirloom and neustark. After a comprehensive due diligence process, Verdane selected the three companies due to their track record of excellence in the field of carbon removals, highlighting previous agreements with early supporters like Microsoft, Stripe, Boston Consulting Group, LGT Group and Swiss RE.

Verdane is starting with an initial purchase covering its 2022 and 2023 Scope 1-3 forecasted remaining emissions. As demand for carbon removal technologies is growing and providers are ramping up neutralization capabilities, the removal will be spread over several years, covering several thousand tons of CO₂. Verdane has set a target to achieve net zero scope 1-2 emissions in 2022 and reduce scope 3 emissions intensity (all scope 3 emissions except portfolio company emissions) by 65% until 2030 versus 2021.

Bjarne Kveim Lie, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Verdane, commented: “it is now established that carbon removal is going to be a necessary complement to – though of course by no means a substitute for – dramatically cutting global emissions. Pioneering firms in this area need pioneering customers willing to accept higher short term costs for higher quality offsets. Verdane is calling on both businesses and the worldwide asset management community to join in this effort to help create a global market where there isn’t one today.”

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Climeworks empowers people to reverse climate change by permanently removing carbon dioxide from the air. One of two things happens to the Climeworks air-captured carbon dioxide: either it is returned to earth, stored safely and permanently away for millions of years, or it is upcycled into climate-friendly products such as carbon-neutral fuels and materials. The Climeworks direct air capture technology runs exclusively on clean energy, and the modular CO₂ collectors can be stacked to build machines of any size. In September 2021, Climeworks launched the world’s largest direct air capture and storage plant, Orca, located in Iceland.
Founded by engineers Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher, Climeworks strives to inspire 1 billion people to act now and remove carbon dioxide from the air.

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