Study: Fossil fuel sector should cover around 20% of necessary direct air carbon removal investment

Fossil fuel companies should invest between US$40.5 billion and US$77.6 billion into direct air capture and storage technology (DACCS) to cover their contribution in the climate crisis, according to a scientific study.

This amounts to 16% to 31% of the total US$250 billion estimated to be needed to scale and commercialise this emerging carbon removal solution, and would be split between the 66 highest-emitting fossil fuel and cement firms.

The study, published this week by Climate Analytics in the peer-reviewed journal Climate Policy, estimates that an initial US$32 billion is required to move DACCS beyond its “formative phase” by 2040, where costs are high and deployment is minimal. 

Overall, scaling the technology to achieve costs of around US$100 per tonne of CO2 removed from the atmosphere (against up to US$1,000 currently) will require a total investment of about US$250 billion.

“Based on climate justice principles, the companies that contributed most to the climate crisis should also be responsible for investing in solutions,” said lead author Dalia Kellou. “This includes funding the early-stage investments needed to make carbon removal technologies viable.”

Exxonmobil expected to contribute the most

Based on their historical emissions, the study estimates that five companies should provide the strongest share of carbon removal investment in the formative phase: ExxonMobil at US$2.8 billion, Shell at US$2.5 billion, BP at US$2.2 billion, Chevron at US$1.9 billion, and Peabody Energy at US$1.8 billion.

“These companies are making billions in surplus profits” said Kellou, “It is both fair and feasible that a portion of their windfall is used to fund technologies that will help clean up the damage they have caused.”

According to the study’s authors, direct air carbon removal will be necessary to complement conventional carbon removal techniques such as land-based carbon sinks like forests and soils, which are already under threat because of the acceleration of climate change. DACCS can permanently remove carbon, and as such will be key to achieving net zero.

“Carbon removal technologies cannot replace the urgent need to phase out fossil fuels,” she added. “But they will be essential for balancing out residual emissions in the near- and mid-term and to draw temperatures back down in the long-term. Who better to fund this than those most responsible for the problem?”