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Klima

LGT filtering CO2 out of the air with the help of Climeworks

20 Dec 2021
Vaduz/Zurich - LGT has tasked Climeworks AG with removing 9,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. The Zurich-based start-up and Liechtenstein private bank have now signed a contract for a period of ten years to this end.

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On behalf of LGT, Climeworks is set to filter out 9,000 tons of the greenhouse gas CO2 from the air around us over the course of the next yen years. The Zurich-based start-up and private bank under the ownership of the Princely House of Liechtenstein have now agreed terms on a cooperation for this purpose. This measure comes as part of the Vaduz-based bank’s efforts to cut unavoidable emissions linked to its operations, for example those caused by business travel, as well as its investments to zero by 2030, further details of which can be found in a press release.

Climeworks, a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH), operates technical plants that capture carbon dioxide from the air. To do this, the greenhouse gas CO2, which is the cause of global warming, is filtered out of the ambient air, mixed with water and finally pumped underground in Iceland, where it then reacts with basalt rocks and mineralizes into stone.

“Climeworks’ technology is the only solution available today that can reduce CO2 in the atmosphere in a scalable manner and then permanently store it underground”, the press release explains.

For Climeworks, the contract with LGT is the third ten-year agreement it has signed following similar deals struck with the Boston Consulting Group und Swiss Re. “It is also the largest-ever direct air capture agreement signed by a bank. LGT, and the financial services industry more broadly, are showing true leadership in advancing carbon removal”, comments Christoph Gebald, co-CEO and co-founder of Climeworks, in the press release.

For the private bank, the support of innovative companies with future-oriented technologies will be a core pillar of the fight against climate change. “As a company that aims to act responsibly and sustainably, it’s important to us to achieve a net-zero CO2 footprint as soon as possible. Our long-term partnership with Climeworks is a further step in that direction”, comments Prince Max von und zu Liechtenstein, LGT Chairman, in the press release.

In addition to cutting unavoidable emissions with the help of Climeworks, the bank is targeting a reduction in avoidable emissions through the use of renewable energies, improved building insulation and more efficient, modern heating systems.