Net-zero cities and the opportunity for carbon removal project developers

This opinion article is based on the 2024 report “ Pathways to Net-Zero Cities: The Role of Cities in Advancing Carbon Removal ” by XPRIZE Carbon Removal, South Pole and the Global Carbon Removal Partnership. It was written under the CDR Initiative; a collaborative effort that also includes C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy as supporting partners.

Developers of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects need partners to succeed, from project financiers and credit buyers to technology developers and independent certifiers. To make the business case, they also need partners that build the enabling environment. Few actors have the agency and legitimacy to take that role, beyond national governments and supranational organizations. Often forgotten is the massive impact that regional and city administrations can deliver, at times exceeding what central governments can do.  

Project developers have a lot to gain from engaging city administrations as partners. Not only do they have competencies that are distinct from national governments, they are also much better equipped to make the case of CDR for society given their proximity to citizens. Moreover, city administrations are indispensable for the realization of project value chains that are partly or entirely situated in the built environment. However, making the right pitch is important; unlocking this potential calls for a new perspective on CDR projects that accounts for the socio-economic context at the city level rather than the national level.

Cities as emission sources and carbon sinks

As urban centers and significant contributors to global CO₂ emissions, cities hold a crucial role in the fight against climate change. The IPCC estimates that ~70% of global CO₂ emissions come from cities, making them essential players in the fight against climate change. Many cities worldwide have committed to ambitious net-zero targets, but a significant gap remains: their strategies often lack concrete plans to address residual emissions. This is where CDR comes into play. Cities can become pivotal in advancing these efforts, while leveraging the multitude of benefits that CDR solutions can offer.

Cities are not only major sources of carbon emissions, but also hold vast untapped potential as carbon sinks; a 2022 report from South Pole and Bellona Europa for the City of Amsterdam identified the potential for removing 1MtCO₂ every year only from biogenic emissions, representing almost one quarter of its annual emissions. This potential increases significantly when other project types are added. The sheer scale of cities’ CO₂ emissions and their carbon sink potential underscores the urgent need for effective carbon removal strategies that include the development of dedicated storage capacity. 

Despite their significant contribution to emissions, cities have the unique ability to implement change. By using technological, regulatory, financial and political-economy levers, cities have the potential to emerge as critical nodes for the development and deployment of carbon removals, complementing what national governments can do.

The role of cities

Co-benefits are the key to success. In our report, we define ‘City CDR’ as covering all initiatives and strategies taken by cities to mitigate climate change by actively reducing CO₂ levels in the atmosphere, while maximizing synergies with wider city priorities, thereby contributing to overall efforts to achieve net-zero emissions or even carbon negativity, as well as other city objectives. These initiatives are driven by local governments, often in collaboration with various stakeholders including businesses, NGOs, research institutions, national governments, transnational municipal networks, and citizens. 

CDR encompasses a wide array of solutions, each with its own set of co-benefits that extend beyond climate change mitigation alone. There is ample evidence of a wide range of CDR project types being advanced around the world. In the context of cities, project designs should maximize the delivery of co-benefits. City administrations have limited bandwidth to take on additional responsibilities, implying the need to multiply the impact of a project to get the kind of support that project developers need.  

Shades of city CDR 

Cities can play a number of distinct roles to support CDR project developers, with each pathway of engagement addressing a different facet of the operating environment. By engaging through these diverse pathways, cities can simultaneously address immediate local concerns and contribute to broader, systemic changes in carbon management. 

The pathways focus on different aspects of City CDR, illustrating archetypal roles of the city. Cities will simultaneously follow a number of pathways and the implementation of each will be unique per city. The pathways invite a multifaceted approach that allows cities to leverage their unique strengths and resources, tackling carbon removal from multiple angles to generate impact in a manner that is specifically suited to their individual context. 

The pathways for city-level engagement include:

• The city as strategizer – The city develops clear and robust policy frameworks, roadmaps, and dedicated targets for carbon removals, providing long-term visibility for investors and project developers.

• The city as regulator –  The city adopts and promotes regulations that support carbon removal activities, particularly in buildings and zoning, creating an enabling environment for CDR while ensuring compliance and accountability.

• The city as service provider – The city integrates carbon removal into urban planning, infrastructure, and public services, managing the built environment to minimize its climate impact and enhance carbon storage capacities.

• The city as innovator – The city promotes local and collaborative research, development, and innovation in carbon removal, providing dedicated funding and infrastructure to support these efforts.

• The city as funder – The city drives demand for carbon removals by providing funding and establishing mechanisms to support and scale carbon removal projects, reducing costs and empowering local actors.

• The city as convener – The city fosters public debate and citizen engagement on carbon removal initiatives, raising awareness and advocating for carbon removal through participatory governance and public information campaigns.

City CDR interventions offer a promising avenue for mitigating the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions while addressing various environmental, social, and economic challenges. By leveraging the dense infrastructure and resources available in cities, CDR initiatives have the potential to scale up significantly, meaningfully contributing to climate mitigation efforts. While cities are at the forefront of innovation and action, their efforts in deploying CDR solutions can transcend local borders, reflecting a broader commitment to global climate action.

Moving forward: A call to action

The potential for cities to catalyze carbon removal is immense. By embracing innovation, investing in the necessary infrastructure, and fostering community engagement, cities can and must help turn the tide on climate change. This is imperative given the extraordinary greenhouse gas footprint of the built environment. The time to wake this sleeping giant is now. Project developers and financiers are well-placed to help make that happen. 

The urgency of addressing climate change demands immediate action, and CDR presents a transformative opportunity to create more sustainable and resilient urban environments for both current and future generations. Cities must seize this opportunity to lead by example, integrating CDR into their climate and sustainability agendas, and setting a precedent for global action towards a more sustainable future and positive living environment.