Mitsubishi’s NextGen is set to revolutionize the carbon market with World’s largest CO2 removal portfolio. It will use tactics like carbon removal credits and capturing CO2 from ethanol production. The move comes as Mitsubishi seeks to strengthen its commitment to a sustainable future and contribute to environmental protection through innovation and collaboration.
It’s worth noting that Mitsubishi has a presence in some of the most environmentally damaging industries, including car production, natural gas, coal, petrochemicals, and plastics. Furthermore, many corporations have been using carbon credits as a means of continuing to pollute while giving the impression that they are combating climate change.
However, this week, Mitsubishi announced a joint venture aimed at establishing the world’s largest portfolio of carbon removal credits.
These credits represent the removal of significant amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using a variety of tactics that are still the subject of considerable debate when it comes to addressing climate change.
Mitsubishi Corporation’s joint venture with South Pole, NextGen, has announced the establishment of the world’s largest diversified portfolio of permanent carbon dioxide removals (CDRs).
This is a significant step towards achieving their target of 1 million durably stored tonnes of CO2 by 2025. The purchase of these initial CDRs will ensure independent certification of technological carbon removals, and also unlock financing for many emerging CDR projects and technologies.
The development of CDRs is essential for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. NextGen’s ambitions to scale the market have received support from buyers, including Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, who have committed to supporting carbon removal technologies beyond their value chain.
MC aims to further strengthen its commitment to a sustainable future and contribute to environmental protection through innovation and collaboration.
The second project, costing $5.1 billion, aims to capture CO2 from the production of ethanol in the midwestern US. However, research suggests that ethanol production in the US has been even more damaging to the climate than gasoline due to agricultural emissions.
The second project plans to capture and store up to 18 million tons of CO2 per year from ethanol production but has sparked protests due to a proposed CO2 pipeline across the US corn belt.
The last project, based in Finland, produces carbon credits by producing biochar, which is made by heating agricultural and forestry waste.
While using biochar in agriculture has the potential to lock CO2 away in the soil, researchers caution that there hasn’t been enough study into how making and disbursing biochar widely could contribute to air pollution.
Permanently removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is essential to reach net zero by 2050 and fulfill the Paris Agreement.
BCG’s Chief Sustainability Officer, David Webb, expressed pride in being an anchor buyer in the NextGen Facility and supporting the innovative carbon removal technologies that are reducing emissions today. He sees this milestone as a critical step in unlocking the potential of breakthrough climate technologies.
Similarly, H.S.H. Prince Max von und zu Liechtenstein, Chairman of LGT, believes that the launch of NextGen and its three promising, innovative projects is an important milestone. As a founding buyer, he recognizes the significance of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) solutions to achieve climate goals.
He also emphasized that only concerted action and investments in the right projects can lead to scalable solutions and progress toward the net-zero goal. In his opinion, NextGen offers the right model to achieve this.
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As Mitsubishi’s NextGen is set to revolutionize the carbon market with world’s largest CO2 removal portfolio, offsetting and capturing carbon can help. However, these measures are largely untested as solutions to the problem.
In the end, stopping greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels is the most crucial step in preventing climate change.
Source: Mitsubishi Corporation