Keeling Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

Our planet is at a critical moment. High-carbon forests, which are essential climate stabilizers, face an urgent threat. Deforestation and forest degradation currently represent the world’s second largest source of man-made greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and if this continues, we could see an alarming 260 Gt of carbon unleashed within a decade. (https://go.nature.com/3G83uZd). 

In 2020 Canopy not only highlighted this issue but charted a path to solve it through transforming forest-based supply chains. With the launch of “Survival: A Pulp Thriller,” Canopy unveiled an ambitious 10-year roadmap aimed at halving the use of forest-based pulp currently going into pulp, paper, packaging, and viscose production. The secret?  Scaling Next Generation (Next Gen) Solutions - innovative technologies that transform waste, such as discarded textiles and agricultural residues like straw, into pulp that can be made into paper or fabric. In 2023, Canopy received funding through The Audacious Project to rapidly scale this vital work. 

Next Gen Solutions are disruptive technologies that offer a concrete path forward for supply chains historically dependent on forest-based materials‚ and they are poised for commercial scale-up. 
•	They’re environmentally-friendly giants - using on average 70% less energy, 90% less water, and less harmful chemistry. 
•	They dramatically slash GHG emissions (95% to 130% less) and land-use impacts (88% to 100% less) with at least 5 × lower impact on biodiversity. 
•	Next Gen Solutions are by nature more circular, making use of waste products such as agricultural residues and cotton waste textiles that would otherwise be burned or landfilled. 

Next Gen Solutions will ultimately lead to significant carbon emissions reductions by:
•	Enabling large-scale forest protection and restoration;
•	Reducing GHG emissions from landfills and crop burning; and
•	Catalyzing the transition to significantly more energy-efficient technology in the pulp, paper, packaging and viscose manufacturing processes. 

Full implementation of Canopy’s plan will result in a potential reduction of approximately 1.3 gigatons of carbon emissions, with each Next Gen mill representing tens of thousands of tonnes annually.  

Canopy’s strategy involves: 

1.	Identifying Circular, Clean Tech Alternatives: Canopy works with 40+ Next Gen Innovator partners whose technologies offer viable alternatives to wood pulp (https://canopyplanet.org/solutions/next-generation-solutions/next-generation-solutions-providers/). 
2.	Strengthening the Market Through Corporate Commitment: Major brands, in partnership with Canopy develop policies that prohibit sourcing from sensitive forest regions and prioritize Next Gen products for their packaging, paper, and viscose needs. These policies send a clear market signal to pulp and packaging producers to invest in Next Gen production. To date an impressive 900+ brands and producers have developed policies with Canopy, including Amazon, H&M, Walmart, Penguin Random House, LVMH, Target, and PVH, Birla, Lenzing and Eastman.  
3.	Fueling the Demand for Next Gen Fibres: Canopy isn’t just waiting for the market to adpt, they are actively curating it. By securing Letters of Intent to Purchase from leading brand partners, they are indicating a growing demand for Next Gen Solutions and instilling confidence in potential investors. These letters are tangible commitments which can then be converted into pre-purchase agreements with individual ventures as they move into financing. 
4.	Mobilizing the Financing: One of the biggest hurdles to commercial production for Next Gen innovators is access to equity. To clear this hurdle, Canopy is collaborating with an impact investment firm to launch a strategic investment vehicle of $750 million+. The goal? To mobilize equity financing for mills, catalyzing the production of up to 2 million tonnes of Next Gen fibre in just 3 to 4 years. 
5.	Market Demonstration & Amplifying Production: Canopy is committed to showcasing the efficacy of these innovative technologies. By highlighting the standout performance and scalability of these novel solutions to both iconic brands and traditional manufacturers,Canopy spotlights the best technologies ready for large-scale commercial production .

Canopy serves as the catalyst for this innovative climate solution By channeling capital, reshaping the marketplace through education, and pinpointing solutions, Canopy connects our brand, Next Gen, and producer partners, speed-dating them to spark collaborations and commercial scale up.

How Project Affects Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions:

Unsustainable consumption is driving many of the world’s more critical human rights and environmental issues‚ including the depletion of the world’s carbon- and species-rich forests. We rely almost exclusively on the world’s forests to provide the fibre to manufacture pulp, fabrics such as rayon and viscose, and a myriad of packaging, paper and pulp-derived products. Viscose and other Man-Made Cellulosic Fabrics (MMCFs) are the third largest fibre type used by the world’s apparel sector. The use of trees in clothing has doubled during the past decade and is projected to double again within the next eight years. And while packaging’s year-on-year growth is projected to be more modest, it already has a massive global footprint, accounting for more than 54% of global pulp and paper products. Together, MMCF, paper and packaging are responsible for the cutting down of 5.1 billion trees annually. 

Deforestation and forest degradation currently represent the world’s second largest source of man-made greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It creates a systemic, vicious cycle of increasing carbon emissions while undermining a key climate stabilization system by reducing forests’ overall capacity to absorb and store carbon. Old growth forests store significantly more carbon than newly-planted trees or plantations and play a critical role in climate change mitigation and resilience. An estimated 260 Gt of carbon dioxide will be released by 2030 if we continue to degrade forests on the current trajectory. 

Parallel to the climate-related consequences of forest degradation is the methane and GHG production associated with modern-day waste disposal. Today’s economy and supply chains are linear, extractive and wasteful, with natural systems degraded to produce goods that are used for short periods and then disposed of in landfills. Of the 100 billion units of apparel produced each year, 60 billion are estimated to be in landfills within twelve months. Landfills are estimated to be the third largest source of anthropogenic methane generation globally, releasing an estimated 800 million tons of CO2e each year. Paper and clothing represent 20+% of urban landfills. In addition to landfills, the world’s farmers routinely burn agricultural residues as a disposal method, which according to the FAO leads to 34,004,099 tons of annual CO2 emissions globally. 

Maintaining forest ecosystems is estimated to represent approximately 30% of the climate solution. To do this at the pace and scale demanded by science, we need to transform unsustainable, linear-production supply chains that currently drive the degradation and loss of these critical carbon sinks and create tons of CO2-emitting waste. Full implementation of Canopy’s Next Gen NOW plan will result in roughly 1.3 gigatons of reduced/avoided carbon emissions, with each Next Gen mill representing tens of thousands of tonnes annually.

Best Estimate of GHG Avoidance/Reduction of This Project (Tonnes CO2 Equivalent/Year):

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Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

Next Gen Solutions offer new ways to bring women and communities into what have been conventionally male-dominated supply chains‚ supplying fibre to global pulp mills and brands. The commercial scale-up of Next Gen has the potential to invigorate rural and underserved economies through green infrastructure development, new revenue streams to farmers selling waste as feedstock for new mills and collection, sorting and selling of waste textiles into the circular economy. 

Next Generation Solutions offer a clear off-ramp for companies historically reliant on forests‚ and strengthen Canopy’s and our frontline partners’ position at the negotiating table, where we are able to not only outline what companies need to stop doing, but also offer a concrete solution for an alternative way forward. At the same time, Next Gen mill development and production has the potential to be an integral part of conservation-based economy plans that offer new, sustainable streams of revenue to traditional communities and help enable the long-term protection of adjacent forests. 

Finally, Next Gen strengthens Canopy’s work to advance and amplify the conservation visions and voices of frontline activists and Indigenous communities who serve as the custodians of the world’s Ancient and Endangered Forests. Canopy brings our market leverage to several key forests around the world‚ our Landscapes of Hope‚ where we collaborate closely with local NGOs who are working to protect the rights of Indigenous communities impacted by powerful forestry companies with deep legacies of largescale deforestation and human rights abuses.

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