A company that creates standards for removing carbon dioxide from the sky has hired a former leader of the Energy Department’s direct air capture hub program. It also named Mike Brune, a former head of the Sierra Club, to its advisory board.
The moves by Absolute Climate are an effort to enhance the legitimacy of carbon dioxide removal credits amid an absence of federal leadership. In addition to adding Brune to its board, the company brought on Grant Faber, a former DOE carbon removal specialist, to lead its standards-making operation.
“As carbon removal moves from pilot projects to global markets, the credibility of this industry depends on clear and independent standards,” said Peter Minor, CEO of Absolute Climate, in a statement. “Mike’s experience leading major environmental campaigns and Grant’s work shaping federal carbon removal programs will help Absolute Climate ensure those standards are built with the rigor and perspective this market demands.”
Removal credits are created by projects that use carbon-absorbing materials to pull CO2 from the air or oceans and then store the planet-warming gas underground or in long-lasting products. A challenge for carbon removal companies — and the buyers of their credits — is determining how much CO2 each project reliably collects and stores.
