Climate change is an undeniable reality. 17 of the 18 warmest years ever recorded occurred in the 21st century. To counter this development, climate-friendly processes that reduce greenhouse gas emissions are only a starting point. As societal awareness of the impact of climate change grows, climate-neutral products and services are demanded by more and more customer groups. All of these developments at different levels make clear not only the growing awareness of climate change and its consequences, but are also signs of an emerging culture of actively reducing emissions—the era of "Negative Emission Culture" is beginning.

Climate neutrality is becoming a key success factor

If certain products or services cannot be produced or delivered climate-neutrally, companies try to ensure the climate neutrality of their offerings through complementary CO2-reduction services. The climate neutrality of a company's offerings is becoming a key success factor of the future.

For example, Etsy announced that it would be the first e-commerce platform to offset all CO2 emissions caused by deliveries. The company is partnering with 3Degrees to automatically purchase audited emission reduction certificates after every shipment. 3Degrees uses the revenue to fund environmental projects. Another example is MAX Burgers. The Swedish fast-food chain offers customers the world's first climate-positive menu. To do so, the company uses wind power, recycles cooking oil, and is shifting its menu toward vegan options with a lower environmental impact.

Fighting climate change by filtering CO2 out of the air

Actively reducing—or sequestering—the CO2 available in the atmosphere must become a top priority for governments and companies alike if they are to make a meaningful contribution to climate protection. One technical solution is so-called CO2 sequestration. CO2 is captured during industrial production processes using specific technologies and permanently stored in underground reservoirs. In Iceland, a pilot project by Swiss start-up Climeworks has been running for some time. A filter system pulls carbon dioxide from the ambient air and, together with water, sends it about 700 meters underground. Once there, chemical reactions cause the gas to mineralize as harmless carbonate.

Another approach to active CO2 reduction treats the CO2 available in the atmosphere as a valuable resource. It is extracted as raw material using an air-capture process and used, for example, to produce fuels. Canadian company Carbon Engineering has developed the "Air to Fuels" (A2F) process. The greenhouse gas carbon dioxide is absorbed from the air and synthesized into liquid fuels such as gasoline and diesel. The near-climate-neutral fuel offers an alternative to biofuels.

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