Airbus and several other leading airlines – Air Canada, Air France-KLM, easyJet, International Airlines Group, LATAM Airlines Group, Lufthansa Group and Virgin Atlantic – have signed Letters of Intent on July 18 to look into opportunities for the supply of aviation carbon removal credits from direct air capture (DAC).
Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS) is a technology for filtering and removing carbon emissions from the atmosphere using high powered fans. After it is removed, the carbon is stored safely and long-term underneath the earth. Using DACCS technology would allow the aviation industry to reduce CO2 by the equivalent of its emissions.
Among the other solutions to reduce CO2 in the aviation industry is sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), a biofuel that has a smaller carbon footprint than traditional fuels.
According to the Letters of Intent, the airlines will negotiate on possible pre-purchase of verified carbon removal credits from 2025 to 2028. The credits will be issued by 1PointFive , an Airbus partner, a subsidiary of Occidental’s Low Carbon Ventures and a global deployment partner of Carbon Engineering. The Airbus – 1PointFive partnership provides for the of 400,000 tonnes of carbon removal credits in the next four years.
Relevant: Occidental Sells 400,000 Tons Of Carbon Credits To Airbus In Landmark Deal
“We are already seeing strong interest from airlines to explore affordable and scalable carbon removals,” said Julie Kitcher, Executive Vice President Communications and Corporate Affairs at Airbus. “These first letters of intent mark a concrete step towards the use of this promising technology for both Airbus’ own decarbonisation plan and the aviation sector’s ambition to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.”
“Carbon removal credits from direct air capture offer a practical, near-term and lower cost pathway that enables the aviation industry to advance its decarbonisation goals,” said 1PointFive’s President Michael Avery.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), carbon removal technology is needed to mitigate climate change and reach net-zero goals. In addition, the Air Transport Action Group’s (ATAG) Waypoint 2050 report states that offsets between 6% and 8% will be required to counterbalance emissions that exceed the goals.
Read more: 1PointFive And Carbon Engineering Aiming For Global Expansion
