5 things to know about the SBTi’s new carbon removal guideline

The Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), the world's leading body for climate target setting, is revising the carbon removal guidance in its Corporate Net-Zero Standard. This flagship standard includes the guidance, criteria, and recommendations companies need to set science-based net-zero targets consistent with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C.

The draft of the revised guidance, which was published on March 18 2025, has major implications for companies’ net-zero strategies. Rather than encouraging companies to first reduce emissions within their value chain and then remove remaining emissions with permanent carbon removal, the revised standard introduces guidance on how to reduce and remove at the same time.

Industry leaders already understand it's not economically beneficial to postpone their carbon removal strategy, and now the SBTi makes it clear that increasing removal volumes will be essential. Climeworks welcomes the SBTi’s update, which underlines carbon removal’s critical role in net-zero pathways. Up to ten billion tons of CO₂ must be removed annually by 2050, alongside emission reductions, to help fight global warming and create a sustainable, net-zero future.

Since less than 1% of SBTi-aligned companies have purchased permanent carbon removal to date, the requirement to remove CO₂ beginning in 2030 will likely result in a spike in demand. Below we outline the five most important elements companies with an SBTi target should know about the new guidelines, which are expected to be finalized in early 2026.

(1) Shifting the focus to 2030

Carbon removal targets are not an entirely new component of the SBTi’s Corporate Net Zero Standard. The standard already calls for removing or “neutralizing” residual emissions by the net-zero target year, which is most often between 2040 and 2050. Now, however, the SBTi is making that responsibility more imminent, providing guidelines on how to set targets for carbon removal starting in 2030.

With this latest standard, companies now have additional guidance on how to begin removing CO₂ rather than waiting until the net-zero target year. The new standard illustrates how companies can start removing CO₂ based on a percentage of their projected residual emissions in their net-zero target year, with this percentage increasing over time.

SBTi-alinged companies will be required to ramp up their permanent removals until all their emissions are neutralized in their net-zero target year.

(2) Durable carbon removal defined as 1000+ years

Both durable carbon removal solutions, such as Direct Air Capture and Storage, and less durable solutions to remove CO₂ from the air are needed in the fight against global warming. SBTi defines durable solutions as those storing CO₂ for more than 1000 years.

The new guidelines propose two options: A full application of the “like-for-like” principle, or a gradual shift to more durable removals over time, based on global deployment. The latter would lead to higher volumes of total removals in the short term.

The so-called “like-for-like” principle in this case is based on the lifetime of the greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. CO₂ remains in the atmosphere for over 1000 years, which is why it needs to be compensated for with removal approaches that store CO₂ on an equivalent timescale.

(3) A steady ramp-up of carbon removal makes economic sense

The SBTi’s guidance illustrates how companies can gradually remove more CO₂ the closer they get to 2050. This means extra effort for those companies that have not started their carbon removal journey yet, but the good news is that it is much more economically beneficial to start today than in 2049.

Early commitment secures access to better pricing as suppliers scale, and it allows you to integrate carbon removal into your financial planning strategically rather than as a sudden, costly expense. A gradual ramp-up starting today is not only smart for our planet, it's smart for business.

(4) The revised standard reflects latest climate science

While the implementation of interim targets for permanent carbon removal is new for the SBTi, it corresponds to a larger trend in the industry and, most importantly, the latest available climate science.

All leading net-zero best practice guidance, for example the Oxford Net-Zero Principles for Net-Zero Aligned Offsetting and the Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor by the New Climate Institute, state that residual emissions must be compensated for with permanent carbon removal. Similarly, ISO is developing a Net Zero Standard that will lay out best practices for the net-zero transition, which we expect to include carbon removal. So, even for companies that currently don’t align their net-zero targets with the SBTi, there is increasing pressure to remove CO₂.

(5) Build an SBTi-aligned portfolio with Climeworks

The SBTi has opened its revised guidance to public consultation, meaning that experts across the private and public sectors can provide their feedback. Later this year, the SBTi will also initiate a pilot test phase for companies that wish to test and provide feedback to SBTi on the guidance before other corporates.

Climeworks is looking to collaborate with climate leaders who want to seize this unique opportunity. We can jointly build a pilot portfolio that conforms to the SBTi’s new guidance and is tailored to your specific business context. Equipped with a team of carbon markets and climate policy experts, we can keep you up to date on the next steps of the guidance and make sure you’re ready for 2026.

Build a carbon removal portfolio that matches SBTi's criteria—and your budget.

Reach out for a consultation to learn more

The publication of the SBTi’s draft guidance on carbon removal is a clear sign that the world can no longer afford to delay climate action. In 2024, the average global temperature breached the 1.5°C threshold for the very first time, making it the hottest year on record. Carbon removal technologies must be scaled drastically to deliver additional mitigation in the near term, reach net zero in the medium term, and deliver net-negative emissions in the long term.