Effort to tackle climate change attracts commitments even as economic outlook darkens
(Bloomberg) — JPMorgan Chase & Co. is among companies joining a carbon removal initiative funded by some of the biggest tech companies on the planet, in a sign the drive to net zero emissions can overcome a worsening economic outlook.
Frontier, a subsidiary of payments company Stripe Inc., said in a statement Wednesday it had secured $100 million in new carbon-removal purchase commitments from the biggest US bank as well as Workday Inc., Hennes & Mauritz AB and Autodesk Inc.
The pledge means Frontier has now attracted more than $1 billion in commitments after debuting a year ago with $925 million from technology giants including Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc. as well as consulting firm McKinsey & Co. It’s trying to foster a marketplace for carbon removal by helping promising climate startups get initial funding.
The world’s slow progress in cutting greenhouse gas emissions has raised the importance of developing ways to remove carbon from the atmosphere, but the threat of recession and rising prices might lead some companies to think twice before spending money on sustainability efforts. For example, Autodesk recently laid off some of its workers. With these new pledges, Frontier is hoping to show that a broader range of companies — including in financial services and retail — are willing to make serious efforts to include carbon removal in their climate plans, alongside offsets and emissions reductions.
The new buyers show “growing momentum in the carbon removal market despite more challenging economic times” and a promising willingness to plan for the longer term, said Hannah Bebbington, a strategy lead at Frontier. “But in the scheme of where we need to get to, we’re still in our earlier innings.”
The four companies have agreed to purchase a certain amount of carbon removal by 2030 from startups selected by Frontier. The startups, in turn, are able to work on advancing their technology, which ranges from burying carbon deep underground to removing it from the ocean, while knowing they have buyers lined up for their product once it’s ready.
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