BMO to pre-purchase Direct Air Capture carbon removals using carbon engineering technology
by CM Staff
BeZero gives customers access to its BeZero Carbon Rating (BCR) Framework for a transparent assessment.
Carbon Engineering’s Innovation Centre in Squamish B.C., under construction. (CNW Group/BMO Financial Group)
TORONTO — BMO Financial Group announced on Nov. 24 that it had pre-purchased the permanent removal of 1,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology. The purchase was facilitated via London-based climate solutions business BeZero Carbon, and the carbon removal is planned to be delivered by a large-scale facility utilizing Canadian company Carbon Engineering’s (CE) DAC technology.
“As part of our Climate Ambition and our Purpose to Boldly Grow the Good, in business and life, BMO is committed to net zero in our own operations and to being our clients’ lead partner in their transition to a net zero future,” said Michael Torrance, Chief Sustainability Officer, BMO Financial Group.
To help organizations like BMO evaluate offsetting options, BeZero gives customers access to its BeZero Carbon Rating (BCR) Framework. The BCR brings heightened transparency and quality assessment to solutions available in the voluntary market with an evidence-based, risk assessment of the efficacy of industry accredited carbon removal and offset solutions. It does this by assigning ratings that span AAA+ to A, taking several risk factors into consideration, including permanence, additionality, and over-crediting. CE’s DAC technology is the only solution to qualify for the highest AAA+ rating.
“Carbon removal technology such as Direct Air Capture needs early adopter customers to accelerate deployment scale,” said CEO of BeZero Carbon, Tommy Ricketts. “This purchase by BMO is a landmark moment for the future of Direct Air Capture, and a strong signal to the market that this technology should become a critical part of net zero infrastructure.”
Carbon dioxide removal through DAC with permanent geologic storage delivers the physical removal of carbon dioxide from the air, essentially reversing the emissions process. By decoupling the capture of carbon dioxide from the source of the emission, it can be used to counteract any carbon dioxide emission, from anywhere in the world and from any point in time. This provides customers with an effective, verifiable tool that has the potential to address their most difficult sources of emissions, as well as a reliable way to remove emissions from the past.
