By: Marta Krupinska, CEO of CUR8

For way too long, the question on every climate-conscious CFO’s mind was: “Do we truly need carbon removals?” While the science on carbon emissions and their effect on global warming was undisputed, seeing the strategic value of carbon removal remained elusive for corporate leaders. As businesses ramped up their climate action plans, questions lingered: Would carbon removal be effective, or was it merely a distraction? Wasn’t it just another form of carbon offset, akin to forest protection or renewable cookstove initiatives? And critically, was there a sound business case for it?

Those doubts have gradually given way to clarity. Today, the need for carbon removal is no longer a matter of speculation; it’s seen as a necessity. According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is “unavoidable.” Decarbonisation alone will not be enough to reach net zero, given the volume of historic emissions still in the atmosphere. Carbon removal represents a unique solution, not simply offsetting emissions but taking carbon dioxide directly out of the air. It’s an essential mechanism for dealing with residual emissions in a net-zero world.

This shift has changed the conversation entirely. The question is no longer “why,” but “how.” Companies are actively seeking scalable, high-quality CDR solutions – and a series of recent landmark deals underscore this.

Billions of dollars have already been spent on carbon removal. In July, Microsoft secured the single-largest CDR contract to date, purchasing 500,000 tonnes of carbon removal credits from 1PointFive. Google, aiming for long-term impact, followed with its September deal with Holocene to acquire 100,000 tonnes of removals delivered via Direct Air Capture (DAC). British Airways, too, made headlines with the largest-ever single CDR purchase by a UK company, investing in 33,000 tonnes of carbon removal credits. The momentum is undeniable, and the race to secure credits is on.

The initial hesitation around carbon removals was not unwarranted. For starters, carbon removal can be confused with carbon avoidance or protection credits, known as carbon offsets – and these are materially different. Unlike offsets, carbon removal credits represent a ton of carbon dioxide equivalent being removed from the atmosphere, and leading rule setting bodies like SBTi (Science Based Targets Initiative) require carbon removals to neutralise residual emissions in order to claim net zero. Additionally, carbon removals are on average 20+ times more expensive than offsets – with balanced portfolios costing around $200 per tonne.

There was a related challenge for this emerging trillion dollar industry known as “bridge to bankability.” Many carbon removal ventures, still in their early stages, struggle to secure low cost scale up capital. With limited financing options beyond early-stage venture capital and grants, they faced a daunting leap to commercial viability and the promise of sustainable, longer-term funding. With increasing client demand, novel financing mechanisms have emerged. By allowing corporates to access high quality carbon credits without needing to pay upfront, while still giving access to capital to project developers, these tools have transformed investment dynamics and laid the groundwork for market growth.

The recent deals by Microsoft, Google, and British Airways are not outliers; they reflect a broader shift. Meta, for instance, announced it would procure $35 million worth of high-quality carbon removal credits in response to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchasing Challenge, introduced this past March. Sectors like tech and aviation are facing real decarbonisation challenges, and leaders in the space are competing for access to highest quality carbon removal projects, locking in preferential prices for early movers which should save them millions.

Moreover, compliance pressures are increasing. According to the Oxford Offsetting Principles, companies can only claim net-zero status after eliminating residual emissions through CDR, a stance that could become regulatory policy in the future. Waiting could prove expensive – not just financially, but reputationally.

Demand for carbon removal, starting with large corporates and cascading across industries like sports and events, is likely to surge. This shift is timely. The stakes are high, with climate change manifesting in severe weather events and threatening communities worldwide. Both engineered and nature-based solutions will be essential to addressing the scale of the climate challenge.

Carbon removals are no longer a “nice-to-have”. They’re a necessity. For businesses, they represent not just an opportunity but an essential pathway to a sustainable tomorrow, and the CEOs and CFOs with the brightest future are the ones who recognise this first.