The new group, known as the Direct Air Capture Coalition, is registered in the U.S. as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization but will have a \u201cglobal focus,\u201d according to Axios<\/a>. Members include for-profit companies such as Climeworks, which opened the world\u2019s largest carbon-capture facility<\/a> in Iceland last year, along with \u201cpartners and observers\u201d like the nonprofit World Resources Institute and New York University\u2019s Energy, Climate Justice, and Sustainability Lab. The goal, according to the group\u2019s website, is to bring together leaders from the technology, business, finance, government, and civil society sectors to \u201ceducate, engage, and mobilize\u201d the world toward carbon removal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is no single nonprofit organization that is focused on accelerating deployment and doing so in a way that is effective, that is sustainable and that is equitable,\u201d Jason Hochman, the coalition\u2019s co-founder and senior director, told the news site Protocol<\/a>. \u201cSo we\u2019re trying to change that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carbon dioxide removal, or CDR, is a broad category that encompasses both natural solutions and technology. Ecosystem-based strategies include creating \u201ccarbon sinks\u201d by planting trees or restoring wetlands that pull carbon from the air and sequester it in biomass, water, or soil. Technologies like DAC are another component, using large fans to suck in air and a chemical reaction to filter out the pure carbon dioxide, which would then be piped to underground storage areas around the country or turned into products like concrete. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Direct air capture technologies have not yet been tested on a large scale, and can be prohibitively expensive, costing several hundred dollars to remove a metric ton of carbon dioxide. But local governments in states like Colorado and Arizona<\/a> have already begun to move forward with carbon removal. And the federal government has supported the idea, too; last week, the Department of Energy announced<\/a> that it intends to fund a $3.5 billion carbon capture and storage program as part of last year\u2019s bipartisan infrastructure law. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The initiative would create four regional DAC hubs that would each capture and store at least 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year. But according to the department<\/a>, \u201cCDR will need to be deployed at the gigaton scale\u201d by the middle of the century \u2014 capturing 1 billion metric tons of CO2 annually, approximately the amount produced by 250 million vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Department of Energy promised that it would \u201cemphasize environmental justice, community engagement, consent-based siting, equity and workforce development\u201d in developing CDR projects, and said that this strategy would need to go hand-in-hand with decarbonizing the economy. But environmental justice groups like the Climate Justice Alliance criticized the decision to promote carbon removal technologies, arguing that funding should instead support \u201c\u200b\u200breal and proven\u201d renewable energy projects in areas that are most affected by pollution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe mere promise of DAC technologies acts as cover for continuing fossil fuel extraction and use, resulting in continued harm to frontline communities,\u201d Basav Sen, the Climate Justice Project Director for the Institute for Policy Studies, said in a press release<\/a>. \u201cIt is also a dangerous gamble, since we are already in the midst of a severe climate crisis, and the promise of DAC may never materialize and only harm frontline communities in new, unacceptable ways.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead, the alliance has called on President Joe Biden to ban new oil and gas leasing on federal lands, stop approving fossil fuel projects, and declare a climate emergency under the National Emergencies Act, which would allow the government to fast-track renewable energy development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hochman told Protocol that the DAC Coalition wants to play a role in getting these regional hubs off the ground, although the organization won\u2019t be engaging in direct lobbying. The group\u2019s next steps include holding a summit in the fall, with the goal of developing a strategy to guide the industry through 2030. <\/p>\n This story was originally published by Grist<\/a> with the headline A new coalition is placing a big bet on carbon removal technology<\/a> on May 27, 2022.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/grist.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Climeworks-Iceland.jpg\")