Our habitat is on track, within 30 years, to hit a state not seen in 50 million years unless we take drastic steps to avoid it. In April 2017, atmospheric carbon levels reached 410ppm, up from 400ppm 2 years earlier, and an increase from approximately 280ppm in the pre-industrial world. Estimates for the last time carbon was at this point range from 2.8 million years to 23 million years. To put that into perspective, 2.8 million years is the age of the oldest possible fossil record of our entire genus we’ve discovered so far. Fossil records of our specific species only date back 280,000 to 350,000 years. Meaning that we are not only entirely outside the conditions in which our species has evolved and existed, we are now outside the conditions in which our entire genus evolved. We can see the immediate impact on our species in the 4.5 to 7 million deaths per year (depending on year and source) caused by fossil fuels.
The conclusion is simple, carbon neutral goals, while a step in the right direction, are inadequate; humanity not only needs to stop emitting carbon entirely, but also needs to start restoring or replacing many of the carbon sinks we’ve lost to return us to the habitat in which our species evolved and existed.
This is why C- was formed. C- (CarbonNegative OÜ) is an EU company founded by a group of experienced energy and finance professionals who recognize the path we are on and want to help humanity avert the crises we face unless we change course quickly. We have been involved in the development of energy projects with total costs in the multiple billions of U.S. dollars, and have seen the development not only of projects, but also of the contractual, legal, and regulatory frameworks surrounding them.
We are using that knowledge to help our clients lay the necessary groundwork and chart a path to achieve stable, affordable, 100% renewable energy and carbon negative targets.