Cascade Climate has launched the Bedrock Initiative, kicking off a global coordinated research effort to generate and build up the scientific evidence needed for scaling enhanced rock weathering (ERW) to climate-relevant levels.
This program aims to produce the agronomic and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) evidence needed to bring ERW into compliance carbon markets and government agricultural programs, where it can deliver value and benefits at scale for farmers and the climate.
Besides Cascade Climate, the initiative also secured founding support from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Frontier, Google,the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment,King Philanthropies,the Kissick Family Foundation, and the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation.
Going forward, these funders will crowd in additional sources of support as the program grows.
Governed by a Steering Committee for strategic planning and investment decision-making, the Bedrock Initiative also includes a Scientific Advisory Board for scientific oversight and fit-for-purpose working groups for on-the-ground coordination, experimental design, and data analysis.
Experts agree that ERW holds great climate-positive potential with its ability to deliver accelerated CO2 removal and soil and crop yield improvements. But the sector still needs science-based proof of its exact impact in different climates and geographies.
As Cascade Climate shares in its announcement, “If ERW is going to earn the trust of policymakers, markets, and farming communities, those gaps need to close at the speed the climate demands.”
To provide the knowledge and evidence required for timely ERW growth, the Bedrock Initiative is starting a coordinated research network of field sites to conduct standardized, multi-year measurements across diverse methods and soil profiles.
Relevant: Cascade Climate Is Looking For Partners For A New Coordinated ERW Research Network
Additionally, the initiative will work to provide farmers and policymakers with the agronomic evidence they need by conducting replicated yield trials and studies at scale, with particular interest in Global South locations.
Bedrock will also focus on lowering the monitoring costs that currently present a scaling obstacle through a Modeling Acceleration effort that will bring together leading geochemical modelers to advance validated, model-based monitoring.
Commenting on the launch of the Bedrock Initiative, Cascade Climate shared in a publication, “We believe the next few years will be transformative for ERW, and we’re thrilled to be building that future with all of you.”
Read more: Climeworks And Lithos Carbon Team Up To Bring Verified ERW Credits To Market
