Swiss Re has signed the world’s first, and largest, ten-year carbon removal purchase agreement with direct air capture and storage.

The $10m deal is part of a wider partnership with Climeworks, a company specialising in carbon dioxide removal via direct air capture technology, and both the length and the total value of the partnership set new milestones for the voluntary carbon market.

Powered solely by renewable energy, Climeworks’ direct air capture plants capture CO2 from the air. In Iceland, Climeworks’ partner Carbfix mixes the CO2 with water and pumps it deep underground where it reacts with the basaltic rock formations and mineralises as the CO2 literally turns into stone. This September, Cleworks will launch its new large-scale direct air capture and storage plant Orca in Iceland, bringing large-scale direct air capture technology to reality.

"To mitigate the risks of climate change, the world needs to scale-up carbon removal on top of, not instead of emission reductions. By partnering with Climeworks we can play to our strengths in this endeavour, as a risk taker, investor, and forward-looking buyer of climate solutions” commented Christian Mumenthaler, Swiss Re's CEO.

Founded by engineers Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher, Climeworks strives to inspire one billion people to act now and remove carbon dioxide from the air.

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