Square, Inc. commits to long-term carbon removal

Key take-aways:

High-quality carbon dioxide removal is an essential component in addition to emissions reduction efforts to truly achieve net-zero emissions.
Square, Inc. is the latest customer of Climeworks' carbon dioxide removal service, purchasing 2,000 tons of CO₂ removals as part of its net zero carbon commitment.
The purchase is another long-term agreement for Climeworks with a duration of nine years.

For the full English press release, see here.

Square purchases 2,000 tons of CO₂ removals from Climeworks as part of its net zero carbon commitment

This November, COP26 once again demonstrated the private sector’s vital role in the fight against climate change. In order to truly achieve their commitments, companies with net zero targets increasingly adopt high-quality carbon dioxide removal solutions to neutralize their unavoidable emissions. U.S. financial services company Square, Inc. has now signed a nine-year carbon removal agreement with Climeworks to permanently remove 2,000 tons of CO₂ from the air.

Square, Inc. commits to long-term carbon removal on top of emissions reduction efforts

In December 2020, Square, Inc. announced its commitment to become net zero for operations by 2030. To achieve this, the company is actively reducing its own carbon footprint and pairing this with a growing portfolio of verified carbon removals.

As part of its net zero carbon commitment, Watershed became one of Square's key sustainability partners, helping them to measure their footprint and build a strategy to reduce and remove their carbon emissions. Like Square, Watershed helps scale the market for permanent carbon removal by working with Climeworks and other carbon removal technologies.

Climeworks is Square's first partner for direct air capture with a nine-year carbon removal agreement. Such long-term agreements are mutually beneficial, as Climeworks can more accurately project future revenue which assists in accelerating growth planning, while Square is able to assure it has access and price certainty for its long-term carbon removal needs.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Climeworks as an important long-term ally in our path to net zero. Early and long-term adoption of this technology is investing in a future of affordable and large-scale removal which is an essential component to helping mitigate the future negative externalities of climate change”, says Neil Jorgensen, Global ESG Lead of Square, Inc.

Companies paving the way for carbon removal

Early adopters like Square are increasing the market demand for direct air capture, which helps to drive down long-term costs and increase future production for large-scale removal operations. This is crucial because carbon dioxide removal solutions are needed in addition to drastic emissions reductions to both neutralize unavoidable emissions and to remove excess CO₂ from the atmosphere to achieve the 1.5° target, as highlighted by the IPCC.

Christoph Gebald, co-CEO and co-founder of Climeworks

Square’s long-term commitment to remove unavoidable CO₂ emissions with Climeworks shows that the financial services industry is a frontrunner in the scale-up of the carbon dioxide removal market, and we are excited to start this journey with Square.