A partnership of interstate local governments piloted by Boulder County will soon pool resources to fund carbon dioxide removal projects in the Four Corners region.
The 4 Corners Carbon Coalition, or 4CCC, was established by Boulder County and Flagstaff, Arizona and welcomed Salt Lake City, Utah and Santa Fe, New Mexico on Wednesday. Boulder County and Flagstaff invested seed funding earlier this year to launch the coalition with the hope of spurring regional carbon dioxide removal innovation to fight climate change.
Carbon dioxide removal describes the various processes on land and sea that take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and durably lock it away in geological, biological and synthetic formations. According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, cutting emissions from fossil fuels is necessary, but it’s no longer sufficient to stem the worst effects of climate change.
The 4CCC will provide catalytic funding to accelerate carbon dioxide removal project deployment and business development.
“Boulder County knows all too well the catastrophic impacts of climate change, which is why we are thrilled to partner with other local governments to fight the climate crisis through carbon dioxide removal,” Boulder County Commissioner Matt Jones said in a release. “The 4 Corners Carbon Coalition will take action to develop and test real world projects to address the enormous challenge we face.”
The inaugural round of catalytic grant funding will support projects that integrate carbon dioxide removal with real-world concrete production in the region, according to the announcement.
Christian Herrmann, climate communications specialist for the county, said via email that so far in this project, along with staff time, Boulder County has invested $30,000 on consultant support from carbon scientists at Carbon Direct and the Open Air Collective to launch a best practices guide. He added that the county has committed to funding $100,000 or more for the first round of grants for projects that integrate carbon dioxide removal with concrete production in the region.
“We've heard from the community that creating alternatives to traditional, high carbon cement is a priority and we are responding to that feedback,” Herrmann said.
