BA to become largest purchaser of carbon removals in the UK
Above: A British Airways' Airbus A320neo at Heathrow with BA Better World livery.
Courtesy British Airways
One ground-breaking scheme in Scotland will see CO2 emissions captured from whisky distilleries and repurposed into building materials. Another, spread across multiple locations in the UK, uses an enhanced rock weathering technique to lock away carbon for thousands of years. The airline will also purchase carbon removals credits from two companies specialising in high-durability reforestation projects, increasing the amount of forested land in Scotland and Wales.
The airline’s portfolio also includes Canadian carbon capture projects, which focus on carbon removal from rivers and oceans using alkaline rock particles, while in India, the airline is backing a biochar project that empowers female farmers while enhancing soil biodiversity and farm yields.
British Airways joined forces with CUR8, a UK-based company that specialises in sourcing high quality carbon removals credits. The airline has purchased 33,000 tonnes of carbon removal credits through its CUR8 portfolio, a small but important step to help scale-up and advance this critical sector. Carbon removals are recognised by scientists, governments and regulators as a vital tool in helping to address climate change, but the sector needs to be scaled up urgently.
Carrie Harris, Director of Sustainability at British Airways, said: "As we approach the halfway point in this critical decade of action, we’re sharpening our focus on delivering real, tangible progress by 2030. We know flying has a significant impact on the planet, and achieving net zero by 2050 requires bold, innovative action today, as well as long-term transformation and our latest investments in carbon removals reflects this commitment. While small in comparison to our total emissions, these projects are crucial in stimulating the carbon removals market. By supporting pioneering solutions, we’re not only contributing to immediate progress but also laying the groundwork for the large-scale changes needed to meet our climate goals. There is no pathway to net zero for aviation without carbon removals.”
Carbon removal is the process of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it safely for multiple decades and ideally centuries. British Airways' removals portfolio includes a variety of approaches ranging from storing carbon in trees and soils to capturing carbon dioxide directly from the air and durably storing it underground or through enhanced rock weathering.
Combined with previous removals purchases made by the airline, this new investment makes British Airways the largest carbon removals purchaser in the UK and the largest purchasing airline of carbon removals. By signing this deal, British Airways is playing an active role in helping to stimulate UK and global removals, forging deeper relationships with key carbon removals suppliers and building a better understanding of this nascent but vital market.
Marta Krupinska, CEO of CUR8, said: “British Airways understands that carbon removals are not a nice-to-have, but an essential part of the aviation sector’s net zero journey. We've been proud to partner with this aviation leader to build a portfolio that combines the best of nature and human engineering, stretching from UK soils to the oceans and rivers of Canada. At CUR8, we bring together the world’s leading scientists and climate software to help organisations source and manage carbon removals to help de-risk their net zero future. British Airways is a leading brand that recognises that with this early investment, it can help to make an impact not only for themselves but for the industry at large.”
In 2019, British Airways became part of the first airline group to commit to net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner. Its 2030 focus includes embedding a culture of sustainability across the business, by introducing new internal carbon reduction targets and launching a new sustainability learning programme, to inform and inspire colleagues and identify further areas of improvement to help drive change.
In addition to the partnerships facilitated by CUR8, British Airways has also purchased a small number of carbon removal credits from Climeworks, which operates the world’s two largest Direct Air Capture plants in Iceland, with plans to expand internationally, and 1PointFive, a US-based company that is developing a Direct Air Capture plant in Texas.
Roughly one third of British Airways’ emissions reductions by 2050 will come from robust carbon reductions and removals in other sectors, and the airline has been supporting research and innovation to help accelerate the development of cutting-edge solutions since 2019.
Further commitment to innovative partnerships
Recognising the vital role of innovation in securing climate solutions, British Airways has announced a new partnership with The Earthshot Prize, becoming a Global Alliance Member. Founded by Prince William in 2020, The Earthshot Prize is a global environmental prize, designed to discover, spotlight and scale the groundbreaking solutions we need to repair and regenerate the planet.
By working with The Earthshot Prize, British Airways will be supporting the discovery, investment and acceleration of innovative and scalable climate solutions for people and for the planet, ranging from alternative fuels to reducing single-use plastics. Past recipients of the prize include carbon recycling company LanzaTech, who work closely with British Airways' sustainable aviation fuel partner LanzaJet to bring emerging sustainable technologies to market, and Notpla, a company specialising in biodegradable packaging that the airline has recently partnered with. British Airways hopes to explore further collaborations with future prize winners.
These new partnerships and focus on short-term action complement the existing progress the airline is already making towards its sustainability goals, which include investing in SAF projects in the UK and USA, with around 1% SAF routinely delivered into existing pipeline infrastructure at Heathrow, flying new, more fuel-efficient aircraft towards improving operational efficiency in the air and on the ground. This year, British Airways invested in its ground vehicle operation at Heathrow, with more than 90% of vehicles and ground equipment now zero emissions (when being used or driven), hybrids or are operating on HVO fuel.
