When we fund carbon projects, how can we make sure they’re having the real positive impact they claim to have? It’s a request we often get from our Lune customers.

We want all our sustainability champions to be in the know about the projects they’re supporting. In doing so they can feel confident in their decision, easily share the news with their stakeholders, and celebrate the successes. 

So, to help bring the impact of climate contributions to life, we’re publishing quarterly updates from Lune’s library of curated, high-quality carbon projects (we won’t have updates for every project every time, but we’ll share what we do) – and this is the update for Q3 2023. 

To support any of the projects mentioned in this blog, request access to our dashboard.

New portfolio: Frontier – innovative permanent carbon removal

This quarter we added a new portfolio to Lune’s curated library: Frontier!

Backed by Alphabet, Stripe, and Meta, Frontier is an advanced market commitment to buy an initial $1B+ of permanent carbon removal between 2022 and 2030. The portfolio features only the most innovative technologies that are ready to be rapidly scaled. 

By scaling direct air capture, biomass carbon removal and storage, enhanced rock weathering, and other pathways that take CO₂ from the atmosphere and mineralise it or sequester it deep underground, we will be able to meet future demand for carbon removal and make it accessible to all who need it to meet their climate goals. 

These projects are early-stage but promise high levels of durability, additionality, and rigorous or transparent methods to monitor and verify their impact. We’re excited to offer customers the chance to support the future of carbon removal.

Interview: Katingan Peatlands – forest conservation in Indonesia

Earlier this summer the CEO of PT Rimba Makmur Utama, the project developer behind Katingan Peatlands, sat down with world-renowned consultancy, McKinsey, to discuss the projects challenges and future.

The Katingan Mentaya Project conserves 149,800 hectares of tropical peat swamp forest in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia from being converted into timber plantations. Peat soils are a vital carbon sink, storing at least twice as much carbon as trees. They face degradation across the world as they are cleared, drained, and burned for use in industrial activities.

Without the project up to 447 million tCO₂ would be released into the atmosphere over 60 years. Critically, the project protects the habitats of many vulnerable and endangered species, including one of the last remaining populations of Bornean orangutan in the world, whose population has declined over 95% in the last century. And, at the same time, the project supports the sustainable development of local communities, offering improved livelihoods and funding for community projects such as installing improved sanitation infrastructure.

Read why Hartono says building trust, social capital, and community buy-in are critical for success.

Amazon invests in 1PointFive DAC plant

In September, e-commerce giant Amazon invested millions in 1PointFive’s direct air capture (DAC) plant. Direct Air Capture is a technological method that uses chemical reactions to capture and permanently remove CO₂ from the atmosphere.

While the potential for scale is what makes DAC particularly exciting, it’s also what’s currently holding it back – the technology just doesn’t exist at scale yet. It needs funding. Which is why Amazon’s commitment to buy 250,000 tons of removal credits over 10 years is important. It will make this method of carbon removal accessible to skyrocketing market demand. 

The 1PointFive DAC credits are already available to purchase via Lune’s dashboard. You can find out more about this exciting project here.

Running Tide brings more information to the surface

Running Tide is a global ocean health company on a mission to rebalance the carbon cycle, restore marine ecosystems, and revitalise coastal communities. And have they been busy this quarter!

Not only have they celebrated their first removal of 100 tonnes of carbon, but they have also published their approach to evaluating environmental impact and governance principles for responsible climate intervention.

In the pursuit of making a credible climate impact, transparency is key to understanding success. We are delighted to see Running Tide bringing more and more information about how their cutting-edge technology amplifies the natural ocean carbon cycle to the surface.

High quality carbon removal

These updates are just a few snippets of the impact high-quality carbon projects have. Curious about our own process for sourcing and evaluating the high-quality carbon projects we include in our library at Lune? Download our quality assessment guide.