Google is introducing a new coalition named Symbiosis, a collaborative initiative to enhance the efficiency of nature-based carbon removal projects.
Symbiosis unites a collection of corporate buyers dedicated to employing the latest scientific methods to expand high-quality carbon removal strategies that utilize nature’s capacity to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Examples of these strategies include restoring trees and mangroves in damaged ecosystems.
Although these projects have the potential to address climate change, their complexity and the intertwined nature of ecological and economic systems make it challenging to accurately measure and verify their climate impact, which in turn hampers their scalability.
Symbiosis seeks to overcome this obstacle by setting a new standard for exemplary nature restoration projects, ensuring a high probability of achieving positive climate outcomes. The coalition will create shared guidelines for project design and measurement, keeping these guidelines aligned with the latest scientific developments. Moreover, Symbiosis will consolidate the demand for carbon removal credits that meet these rigorous standards. By making these criteria publicly available, Google aims to enable other companies to adopt best practices and boost confidence in superior nature-based carbon removal projects.
Symbiosis focuses not only on climate impact but also on other significant aspects of nature restoration projects, such as restoring native species and biodiversity and ensuring fair participation and compensation for Indigenous and local communities.
This initiative builds on Google’s experience from co-founding Frontier. This successful coalition used advanced market commitments to expedite the development of human-made technologies capable of storing carbon for over a thousand years. Symbiosis adopts a similar approach but leverages nature’s innate carbon-capturing abilities. Both coalitions are essential to Google’s objective of achieving net zero emissions by 2030.
Meta, Microsoft, and Salesforce have joined this initiative, and more companies are expected to join in the future. Google is enthusiastic about initiating solutions to help it and others progress towards net zero emissions.