In a new whitepaper, Climeworks Solutions calls for the integration of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) in AI infrastructure development, laying out practical approaches for combining these two innovations.
This effort, the publication says, can help make the AI industry more sustainable and would align its expansion with broader climate goals.
The publication points to concrete opportunities for implementing carbon removals into the planning, financing, and development of responsible AI infrastructure.
In it, Climeworks Solutions signals that the entire AI value chain has the chance to start integrating CDR today to address the residual emissions of this sector, complementing action that is already being taken on efficiency improvements, clean energy, and low-carbon materials.
The implementation of CDR would apply to a range of different entities participating in the AI build-out, including data center developers, hyperscalers, utilities, investors, contractors, hardware providers, and tenants.
The Climeworks Solutions whitepaper proposes concrete steps
The whitepaper proposes four specific approaches through which these entities can start addressing residual emissions today.
One of the actionable suggestions is creating regional impact portfolios, which support CDR projects chosen for the potential climate, environmental, economic, or community benefits they can deliver in relevant regions.
Another suggestion is embarking on ecosystem CDR co-procurement, through which hyperscalers, developers, utilities, contractors, hardware providers, and tenants could pool demand and take shared responsibility for connected CO2 emissions.
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Climeworks Solutions also mentions establishing guardrails for the natural gas transition, combining carbon capture, durable CDR and a clearly defined phase-out pathway in which lower-CO2 energy options have been exhausted and natural gas is used temporarily.
Lastly, the publication talks about adopting neutralization at the building stage, where CDR procurement would be integrated into project planning to address embodied emissions from construction, materials, and computing hardware.
“The infrastructure that will power the next generation of AI is being designed and financed today, and the decisions being made now will shape its emissions for decades,” said Adrian Siegrist, Chief Commercial Officer at Climeworks. “We developed these approaches to bring that experience to the AI infrastructure sector and show how carbon removal can be incorporated into critical planning and procurement decisions before it becomes an afterthought.”
