● Companies with ambitious net zero commitments are adopting high-quality carbon dioxide removal solutions, such as Climeworks’ direct air capture and storage. Removing CO2 from the atmosphere is needed in addition to emissions reduction efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C, as reconfirmed by the latest IPCC report.
● PwC Switzerland has just announced its net zero by 2030 roadmap to achieve its validated science-based targets, and selected Climeworks as one of the solutions contributing to removing its remaining emissions.
● Climeworks and PwC Switzerland close a 10-year carbon removal contract, which will help the auditing and consulting firm to remove part of its unavoidable emissions.
To stand a chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, the world must reach net-zero CO2 emissions by mid-century and after that even go beyond and produce net negative emissions. This herculean task requires drastic emission reductions in every part of the world economy, and on top of that the active removal of CO2 from the atmosphere.
PwC Switzerland shows how companies can drive this, with their net zero by 2030 strategy relying on those two pillars. On the one hand, PwC reduces its emissions as much as possible through different initiatives, such as the switch to 100% renewable electricity or the preference for public transport. On top of these reduction efforts, PwC Switzerland commits to remove all residual emissions with science-based solutions – Climeworks’ direct air capture and storage being one piece and the only technological removal solution of its portfolio to date.
PwC is committed to reducing its emissions in line with a 1.5 degree climate scenario. Its emissions reduction targets have been validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative and include commitments to reduce its scope 1 and 2 emissions and the firms business travel emissions by 50% in absolute terms by 2030. Its net zero commitment is in line with the company's strategic goal of strengthening trust in society and solving key problems with sustainable results.
The use of cutting-edge technologies like Climeworks’ direct air capture to benefit the economy and society has long been a part of PwC Switzerland’s strategy. Such carbon removal technologies will play a major role in enabling the world reach net zero emissions, which requires a significant scale-up of these solutions. Switzerland is a global innovation hub and as such in a unique position to push innovations that contribute to solving global challenges.
Powered solely by renewable energy, Climeworks’ direct air capture plants capture CO2 from the air. In Iceland, Climeworks’ storage partner Carbfix mixes the CO2 with water and pumps it deep underground where it reacts with the basaltic rock formations and mineralizes: the CO2 literally turns into stone and is thus permanently removed. Climeworks’ technology is scalable and does not compete with arable land, and every ton of CO2 that is removed can be verified as the removal is fully measurable. In September 2021, Climeworks launched its large-scale direct air capture and storage plant “Orca” in Iceland, followed by the groundbreaking of “Mammoth” in June 2022, Climeworks’ newest and largest direct air capture and storage plant.
About Climeworks
Climeworks empowers people and companies to fight global warming by offering carbon dioxide removal as a service via direct air capture (DAC) technology. At Orca, Climeworks’ DAC facility in Iceland, the CO2 is permanently removed from the air by capturing and geologically storing it for thousands of years with Climeworks’ storage partner Carbfix. Climeworks’ DAC facilities run exclusively on clean energy, and our modular CO2 collectors can be stacked to build machines of any capacity.
Founded by engineers Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher in 2009, Climeworks is on a journey to climate impact at scale. To do so, we strive to inspire 1 billion people to act and remove CO2 from the air. Climeworks is spear-heading the DAC industry globally, with the world’s largest DAC facility and storage installation in operation and a team of 300 Climeworkers determined to contribute to a net-zero future. Our growing customer base includes over 160 companies, including multinationals such as Microsoft, BCG, UBS or Swiss Re, as well as more than 18,000 individual Climate Pioneers.
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