Apple has announce a new carbon removal initiative in association with Conservation International and Goldman Sachs. The s $200 million fund called Restore Fund aims to remove at least 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually from the atmosphere, equivalent to the amount of fuel used by over 200,000 passenger vehicles, while demonstrating a viable financial model that can help scale up investment in forest restoration.
Apple said last year it wants to eliminate its contributions to climate change and become carbon neutral by 2030. The company says it will directly eliminate 75 percent of emissions from its supply chain and products by 2030, and the Restore Fund will help address the other 25 percent of its emissions. Apple’s partners in the Restore Fund include the nonprofit Conservation International and the Goldman Sachs group which will manage the fund.
“Through creating a fund that generates both a financial return as well as real, and measurable carbon impacts, we aim to drive broader change in the future encouraging investment in carbon removal around the globe,” Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environment, policy, and social initiatives, said in a statement. “Our hope is that others share our goals and contribute their resources to support and protect critical ecosystems.”
Apple said it will work with organizations such as the Forest Stewardship Council and Verra to help determine the projects in which it will invest. The company didn’t say what the fund’s target returns would be but said it would “unlock the potential of this natural solutions by scaling it in a way that makes it attractive to businesses.”
This effort, according to Apple, is part of its broader goal to become carbon neutral across its entire value chain by 2030. While the company will directly eliminate 75 percent of emissions for its supply chain and products by 2030, the fund will help address the remaining 25 percent of Apple’s emissions by removing carbon from the atmosphere.
