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Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CO280 and JPMorganChase Sign Carbon Removal Offtake Agreement, Unlocking Investment in the U.S. Pulp and Paper Industry
New class of scalable carbon removal projects aims to enhance North American pulp and paper industry productivity and competitiveness VANCOUVER, BC, May 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- CO280, a leading developer of large-scale carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects in the pulp and paper industry, today announced a CDR offtake agreement with JPMorganChase from a project that will capture and permanently store biogenic carbon emissions from a pulp and paper mill in the U.S. Gulf Coast. This offtake follows through on a Memorandum of Understanding signed by JPMorganChase and CO280 in 2023. JPMorganChase will purchase 450,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (mtCO₂e) over 13 years at a price of under $200 per ton. This offtake represents one of the lowest price points per ton for high-quality engineered CDR, signaling the potential for these technologies to move down the cost curve towards broader adoption by corporate buyers. CO280 has pioneered a low-cost approach to scaling up CDR by retrofitting pulp and paper mills to capture biogenic CO2 from boiler stack emissions. Captured CO2 is permanently stored deep underground, and the resulting CDR is sold to buyers like JPMorganChase to support the mitigation of unabated operational emissions. CO280 is partnering with pulp and paper companies to develop a network of more than ten CDR projects, totaling ten million tons per year of CDR. SLB Capturi will supply the carbon capture technology for this project. CO280's model of partnering with pulp and paper companies aims to create a new class of carbon removal project that is profitable, bankable and scalable. Working with buyers like JPMorganChase, CO280's goal is to develop the world's largest network of carbon removal projects, with the potential to invest billions of dollars in the U.S. pulp and paper industry and help position the U.S. as a leader in global carbon markets. U.S. pulp and paper mills generate significant volumes of biogenic CO2, from wood waste. Retrofitting mills to capture and sequester biogenic CO2 is a multi-billion-dollar market opportunity for the U.S. forest products industry, which is a top ten manufacturing employer in 43 states and contributes 5% of U.S. manufacturing GDP1. The pulp and paper industry directly employs about 934,704 workers2 and supports an additional 6,000,000 indirect jobs3, mostly in rural communities. (source: American Forest and Paper Association, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Economic Policy Institute) "Together with JPMorganChase and other buyers, we're investing to strengthen and revitalize the U.S. pulp and paper industry at a time when the industry is facing growing international competition," said Jonathan Rhone, co-founder and CEO of CO280. "By retrofitting mills to deliver permanent, high-quality CDR at the lowest cost, we're transforming the economics of the pulp and paper industry, increasing mill revenue, and EBITDA. Enhancing mill productivity and profitability could also help secure jobs for U.S. forestry workers and sustain the vitality of forest communities for decades to come." "We're thrilled to continue to help speed and scale the growth and development of CDR technologies with this latest offtake. CO280's ability to provide near-term, affordable removals at scale is a key catalyst for making high-quality, engineered CDR available to a wider range of buyers," said Taylor Wright, Head of Operational Decarbonization at JPMorganChase. "This landmark agreement with JPMorganChase is a testament to the bank's extraordinary leadership," said Natalie Khtikian, co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer of CO280. "JPMorganChase was our earliest supporter–from the beginning they understood our vision to deploy CCS to create value for investors and the people who live and work in mill communities, while delivering the highest quality CDR at the lowest price compared to alternatives." CO280 projects meet the highest standards. CDR credits will be verified through rigorous third-party assessments, ensuring regulatory and financial additionality, and CO280's measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) approach aligns with protocols established by leading standard-setting bodies. The biomass sourced by the mills for CO280 CDR projects adheres to the Frontier Biomass Sourcing Principles and Carbon Direct Biomass Sourcing Principles, utilizing residual waste biomass from certified sustainable forests. About CO280 CO280 Solutions Inc. is a leading developer of large-scale carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects. In partnership with CDR buyers and pulp and paper companies, we develop, finance, own, and operate carbon removal projects that deliver a new standard of permanent, verifiable, and affordable CDR credits to customers in the carbon market. Learn more at 1 2 3 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE CO280 Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Microsoft makes game-changing $760 million investment in pursuit of ambitious goal: 'It just seemed like a no-brainer'
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways Microsoft is continuing its push to achieve carbon negative, announcing that it is buying removal credits for 3.7 million metric tons of carbon. The carbon removal agreement will stretch over 12 years during its project to capture and store carbon emissions from a pulp and paper mill on the Gulf Coast. The project is in partnership with carbon dioxide removal developer CO280, and Microsoft cited the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's report on the need for carbon removal in a statement to The Cool Down. "It just seemed like a no-brainer that everyone had missed," CO280 co-founder and CEO Jonathan Rhone told TechCrunch. CO280 sells its carbon removal credits at around $200 per metric ton, making the deal worth $760 million. In Microsoft's 2024 environmental sustainability report, the company disclosed that its pollution continued to rise. "In 2023, we saw [direct operational emissions] decrease by 6.3% from our 2020 baseline. This area remains on track to meet our goals," the report reads. "But our indirect emissions increased by 30.9%." Altogether, Microsoft reported that its "emissions are up 29.1% from the 2020 baseline." It said this is the result of the construction of more data centers and its building materials and hardware components. Carbon removal credits allow companies to offset their pollution. Carbon capture prevents carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere. It involves capturing CO2 from industrial processes or power plants, transporting it, and storing it, typically deep underground. This method is a patchwork option for reducing emissions and mitigating damages, and there are drawbacks. The high cost, safety risks such as leaks and human health hazards from high CO2 concentrations, and the energy penalty associated with the carbon capture process limit the method's long-term viability. Additionally, carbon capture fails to address the overarching concern of our reliance on fossil fuels. Legislation to become carbon neutral or negative typically focuses on seeking renewable energy sources, improving energy efficiency, and reducing transportation pollution. As noted by the Carbon Removal Alliance, the carbon removal industry is equipped to remove around 100 million metric tons of carbon emissions every year. This can account for up to 130,000 additional jobs across the United States. In 2020, Microsoft President and Vice Chair Brad Smith announced that the company would become carbon negative by 2030. "The scientific consensus is clear. The world confronts an urgent carbon problem," Smith wrote. "The carbon in our atmosphere has created a blanket of gas that traps heat and is changing the world's climate." According to Smith, the rise in carbon pollution had become too significant to ignore. "Already, the planet's temperature has risen by 1 degree centigrade," Smith added. "If we don't curb emissions, and temperatures continue to climb, science tells us that the results will be catastrophic." Should the government continue to give tax incentives for energy-efficient home upgrades? Absolutely No Depends on the upgrade I don't know Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Editor's note: This article has been updated to correct Microsoft's goals from carbon neutral to carbon negative, meaning it intends to be responsible for more net carbon removal from the atmosphere than what it emits. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
