Carbon credits came a step closer to mainstream use with the signing of letters of intent by Airbus and a group of airline owners, including Air France-KLM, International Airlines Group, Lufthansa Group, and Virgin Atlantic, to “explore opportunities for the future supply of carbon removal credits from direct air carbon capture technology.”

Airbus has partnered with 1PointFive, a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum's Low Carbon Ventures business, for the sequestration of quantities of CO₂ in a scheme known as direct air carbon capture and storage. That filters and removes CO₂ directly from ambient air using high-powered fans, and once removed, the gas can be permanently stored in geologic reservoirs.

Airbus’s agreement with 1PointFive involves the pre-purchase of 400,000 tonnes of carbon removal credits to be delivered over four years, the OEM said. Participating airlines have committed to engage in negotiations on the possible pre-purchase of verified and durable carbon removal credits from 2025-28.

The gas will be stored in saline aquifers in a one megaton facility in the Permian Basin in Texas, an underground area around 86,000 square miles in size. Much of Occidental’s 40 years of experience with CO₂ involves using the gas for reinjection into oil fields for enhanced oil recovery.

“As the aviation industry cannot capture CO₂ emissions released into the atmosphere at source, a direct air carbon capture and storage solution would allow the sector to extract the equivalent amount of emissions from its operations directly from atmospheric air,” Airbus said.

“One of the key things for the technology is that direct capture can be placed anywhere," said Steve Kelly, president and general manager at 1PointFive International. "If you’re going to sequester it, it needs to be placed in a location where you’re going to be able to transport the CO₂ and store it underground safely and in a verifiable way.”

According to the World Bank, carbon pricing revenue in 2021 increased by almost 60 percent from 2020 levels, to around $84 billion. “This provided important sources of funds to help support a sustainable economic recovery, finance broader fiscal reforms, or invest in communities as part of the low-carbon transition future,” the institution said in its annual State and Trends of Carbon Pricing report in May. The report presented recent carbon pricing developments around the world and found there were 68 direct carbon pricing instruments in operation: 36 carbon taxes and 32 emissions trading systems.

Jane Ashton, director of sustainability for EasyJet, another airline participating in the scheme, said credits were not readily available for such a nascent technology today. Collaborating through Airbus with other airlines was a way it could take steps to immediately support a technology that was at a very early stage.

She said many governments and expert organizations, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the International Energy Agency, and the Energy Transition Council, were all “absolutely adamant that this technology is fundamental to maintain or deliver a 1.5-degree world [maximum increase of 1.5 degrees]." 

Airlines contribute around 3 percent of global carbon emissions and are a focus of the renewables effort, particularly given the disparities in equitable access to travel faced around the world.

“Achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 is key for the Lufthansa Group,” said Caroline Drischel, head of corporate responsibility, Lufthansa Group. “This involves billion euro investments in continuous fleet modernization and our strong commitment to sustainable aviation fuels. In addition, we are exploring new technologies, like advanced and safe carbon capture and storage processes.”

“Airbus’s stance on sustainability is not just a ‘poster,’“ said Nicolas Chretien, Airbus head of sustainability and environment. “We mean it. We want to be leaders, so stay tuned.”