This week Boeing announced its support of Yale University’s ambitious research efforts in the field of natural carbon sequestration. The $10 million contribution from the aerospace leader will support the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture, accelerating research into methods of carbon sequestration at scale.

The goal of the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture is to develop natural solutions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Established in March 2021 with initial funding from FedEx, the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture (YCNCC) has emerged as a major initiative within Yale’s Planetary Solutions Project, a university-wide effort to help solve Earth’s climate and biodiversity crises.

“If we are to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, we need a portfolio of solutions to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions, including natural carbon capture,” said Indy Burke, Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. Dean of the Yale School of the Environment. “Boeing’s generous support for the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture will enable us to accelerate the pace of research into methods of carbon sequestration at scale — with the ultimate goal being the development of real-world solutions that can be utilized by a wide array of sectors.”

The Center’s initial focus is on near-term solutions that can capture approximately one gigaton per year, which is equivalent to current annual airline emissions. The center is developing a portfolio of carbon removal strategies that capture and store carbon from the air using natural processes and will help build planetary capacity to reduce atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations over the next half-century.

“Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time and at Boeing, we believe we have a responsibility to take action and help find solutions to reverse its effect,” said Chris Raymond, Boeing’s chief sustainability officer. “To find sustainable solutions, we must work together across industry and academia, and invest in the scientific research and development that are crucial to the success of tackling climate change. This program brings all those components together and we’re honored to support Yale’s groundbreaking and important work in this space.”

As part of Boeing’s work with global partners for aerospace sustainability, the company looks outside the industry to support research and development. Natural carbon capture can play a significant role in mitigating the effects of greenhouse gas emissions while also offering potential co-benefits such as improved health of soils and coral reefs as well as biodiversity conservation.