- The bank has pre-purchased 1,000 tonnes of carbon removal
units, planned to be delivered by a large-scale facility utilizing
Carbon Engineering's Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology.
- Carbon Engineering's DAC technology, paired with geologic
sequestration, holds the highest rating (AAA+) on the BeZero Carbon
Rating Framework – a tool to assess the quality of carbon removal
and offset solutions.
TORONTO, Nov. 24, 2021 /CNW/ - BMO Financial Group
announced today it has 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.
This news builds on BMO's membership in the Net-Zero Banking
Alliance (NZBA), a global network of 94 banks from 39 countries.
That global sustainability-focused banking initiative reinforces
member banks' commitment to help finance the climate transition and
support public and private sector collaboration to reach net zero
by 2050. Members who join the alliance sign a commitment to take a
robust approach to the role of offsets in transition plans.
According to the NZBA Commitment Statement, this means chosen
offsets should be restricted to carbon removals and deployed to
balance residual emissions when viable options to eliminate the
emission are limited.
"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. "We're pleased to be working with BeZero and
Carbon Engineering on high-integrity, large scale climate solutions
such as Direct Air Capture, and to be the first bank to do so. By
doing so we're supporting the growth of a new market for Direct Air
Capture and associated offsets, which will be critical for
achieving ambitious Paris aligned
1.5C goals and going past net zero to being net negative GHG
emissions."
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.
"The world is witnessing an overwhelming, and necessary, surge
in net-zero commitments," said Carbon Engineering's CEO,
Steve Oldham. "At the same time,
it's critical to form and uphold transparent, science-based
standards for meeting these commitments and we're pleased to see
industry leaders, like BeZero Carbon and BMO, working together to
do this. Solutions, like Carbon Engineering's Direct Air Capture
technology, are feasible and available today to support businesses
and governments in their sustainability plans to meet these
commitments."
BMO's carbon removal units are pre-purchased, reserving capacity
as development of DAC facilities is ongoing. The first commercial
facility to utilize CE's DAC technology is targeted to be
operational in 2024. It is being developed in the US by 1PointFive
and is expected to capture up to one million tonnes of atmospheric
carbon dioxide annually.
One of the first major Canadian banks to sign the UN Principles
for Responsible Banking, BMO is committed to supporting the
advancement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the
objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement. BMO is a member of
UNEP-FI and signatory of the Principles for Responsible Banking,
serves as North American representative on the Steering Committee
of the Equator Principles and is Chair of the Cross-Sector
Biodiversity Initiative. BMO is a member of the Partnership for
Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) and the Net Zero Banking
Alliance (NZBA), which recognises the vital role of banks in
supporting the global transition of the real economy to net-zero
emissions
Carbon neutral since 2010, BMO
announced its Climate Ambition in March
2021 with a commitment to deploy $300
billion in sustainable lending and underwriting to companies
pursuing sustainable outcomes by 2025. Since December 2019, BMO has completed sustainability
and green financing frameworks, green and sustainability-linked
loans for companies in a range of sectors, from manufacturing and
packaging to metals & mining and energy. To support clients'
pursuit of opportunities driven by the increasing momentum of the
global economy's shift in production and consumption of energy,
this year BMO established a dedicated Energy Transition
Group and the BMO Climate Institute.
BMO's leadership on sustainability has been recognized on
numerous rankings, including the Wall Street Journal's 100 Most
Sustainably Managed Companies in the World, the Dow Jones
Sustainability Indices World Index, and Ethisphere Institute's list
of the World's Most Ethical Companies. For more information on
BMO's commitment to a sustainable future, please visit the bank's
Sustainability Report. To learn more about sustainable finance at
BMO click here. For BMO's climate ambition, visit our Climate
page.
About BMO Financial Group
Serving customers for 200
years and counting, BMO is a highly diversified financial services
provider - the 8th largest bank, by assets, in
North America. With total assets
of $971 billion as of July 31, 2021, and a team of diverse and highly
engaged employees, BMO provides a broad range of personal and
commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking
products and services to more than 12 million customers and
conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and
Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management and BMO Capital
Markets.
About Carbon Engineering:
Founded in 2009, Carbon
Engineering (CE) is a Canadian-based clean energy company. CE is
focused on the global deployment of large-scale Direct Air Capture
(DAC) technology that captures carbon dioxide (CO₂) out of the
atmosphere so it can be permanently stored deep underground or used
to produce clean, affordable transportation fuels. From a pilot
plant in British Columbia, CE has
been capturing CO₂ from the atmosphere since 2015. Today, with
its partners, CE is working to deploy large-scale, commercial
facilities in multiple markets around the globe.
About BeZero Carbon:
BeZero Carbon is a London-based climate solutions company
launched in April 2020. BeZero Carbon
offers an integrated hub of data, products, and services for the
entire climate economy, providing carbon market intelligence and
decarbonisation solutions for all a range of organisations. The
BeZero Carbon team combines experienced professionals across earth
sciences, economics, engineering and technology. Its focus is on
helping organisations adapt to and prosper in a low carbon future
by taking a systematic approach to systematic change.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bmo-first-bank-to-pre-purchase-direct-air-capture-carbon-removals-using-carbon-engineering-technology-301431782.html
SOURCE BMO Financial Group