We all want to give our children a safe climate like the one we were given.

Climate restoration means restoring a climate that’s proven safe for humans over the long term— and doing it by 2050 while our ecosystems, climate systems, as well as social and political systems are sufficiently intact.

For a safe climate, we need safe CO2 levels. To restore safe CO2 levels we need to remove a trillion tons of CO2 from the atmosphere.

The climate we enjoyed for 10000 years—from the end of the last Ice Age until about 100 years ago—was stable and safe. Called the “pre-industrial climate” it allowed us to thrive and develop agriculture and civilizations.

In technical terms, pre-industrial CO2 levels were about 275 parts per million (ppm). That means that out of a million molecules of air, 275 are CO2.

The highest CO2 level humans have endured long term is 300 parts per million (ppm).

Atmospheric CO2 levels have reached 425 ppm—more than 50% higher than they were before industry.

The last time Earth saw similar CO2 levels—between 14 and 16 million years ago—hominids hadn’t even evolved from gorillas.

Translating parts per million of CO2 into quantity: Over the last couple of centuries, we’ve burned so much fossil fuel that there’s a trillion tons of excess or “legacy” CO2 already in the air. That’s what’s causing most of the climate chaos.

In the historic Paris Accords of 2015, the world agreed to reach “net-zero emissions” by 2050.

Net zero involves 1) transitioning to clean energy—mostly solar, wind, and batteries—as far as we can and then 2) balancing out ongoing fossil-fuel emissions by removing an equal amount of atmospheric CO2 (hence the “net” in net zero).

Net-zero then means not pumping any more greenhouse gas pollution into the atmosphere. Transitioning to clean energy is good for the atmosphere as well as environmental and human health. The net-zero goal challenges us to move to clean, renewable energy with all haste.

However, reaching net-zero is not the same as restoring a safe climate.

Most people assume that achieving net-zero emissions will end the climate crisis. But it won’t.

Net-zero means stabilizing CO2 levels where they are. While stabilizing CO2 was appropriate in the 1980’s before climate change was visible, it’s no longer enough.

Now even if we magically achieved net-zero tomorrow, we would still have all the CO2 pumped into the atmosphere over the last 200 years. There’s a trillion tons of this “legacy” CO2. It’s the main engine behind climate chaos.

If we stabilized greenhouse gasses today without removing the legacy CO2, we are likely to see our climate and ecosystems continue to collapse before our eyes. This might be the end of life as we’ve known it.

To restore a safe climate, we need to move to clean energy AND to remove the trillion tons of legacy CO2 we’ve dumped into the atmosphere over the last two centuries.

Humans haven’t pulled a trillion tons of CO2 out of the air before—but Nature has. Many times in the lead-up to ice ages. So we know it can be done. Nature also removes gigatons of CO2 quickly after volcanic eruptions.

​About 30 years ago, scientists figured out how to replicate and accelerate these and other natural processes. Climate restoration solutions have been perfected and time-tested by nature; replicating them is proving to be low-tech and remarkably low cost.

By boosting photosynthesis in the ocean which covers most of our planet. Leading up to an ice age, Nature increases dust storms which blow iron dust from drylands out to sea. (Iron is necessary for all life but unlike other nutrients it doesn’t dissolve and linger at the surface—it sinks.)

Adding trace amounts of iron can prompt immediate healthy blooms of phytoplankton, the tiny green plants and algae that make up the base of the marine food web.

Phytoplankton absorb huge amounts of CO2 through photosynthesis. When the phytoplankton (and whatever eats it) dies, it drops to the depths. There, the biocarbon can’t rot or burn, unlike with plants on land.

​We call this natural process “ocean iron fertilization” or OIF. It’s like giving an iron supplement to anemic parts of the ocean.

By following Nature’s lead. Today, about a dozen pilot projects are being developed worldwide to replicate and accelerate OIF (through a process called “biomimicry.”)

From the science of ice ages and also of volcanoes which remove CO2 very rapidly, we project that intentional OIF could scale up to 60 billion tons of CO2 a year. At that rate, we could restore safe CO2 levels by 2050.

Scientists and engineers are also emulating how Nature removes methane from the air. Less concentrated than CO2 and shorter lived in the atmosphere, methane is about 80 times more powerful than CO2. Through biomimicry, we plan to double the rate of natural methane oxidation, which will cut methane concentrations in half, restoring pre-industrial levels rapidly.

By following Nature’s lead. Today, about a dozen pilot projects are being developed worldwide to replicate and accelerate OIF (through a process called “biomimicry.”)

From the science of ice ages and also of volcanoes which remove CO2 very rapidly, we project that intentional OIF could scale up to 60 billion tons of CO2 a year. At that rate, we could restore safe CO2 levels by 2050.

Scientists and engineers are also emulating how Nature removes methane from the air. Less concentrated than CO2 and shorter lived in the atmosphere, methane is about 80 times more powerful than CO2. Through biomimicry, we plan to double the rate of natural methane oxidation, which will cut methane concentrations in half, restoring pre-industrial levels rapidly.

You may have heard a lot about regenerative agriculture, agroforestry, or biochar. “Nature-based climate solutions” also include tree-planting, holistic grazing, “blue carbon,” and restoration of all sorts of ecosystems (“eco-restoration”).

Land-based approaches are good for soil, wildlife, and human health. Some can make money in the offset market, particularly in countries in the South. But they’re not scalable enough to restore the climate in the short timeframe we have.

Many require widespread behavior change. For example, billions of farmers around the world would need to adopt new practices for regenerative agriculture to make significant progress toward restoring the climate.

Permanence of CO2 storage is also an issue: As vegetation dies, it rots, releasing carbon back to the air. Forest fires quickly return CO2 stored in trees…back to the atmosphere.

​These efforts are tremendously important for life on Earth. They can contribute to restoring a safe climate. But they cannot substitute for highly scalable ocean-based restoration.

No. Direct Air Capture (DAC) and other forms of industrial CDR are simply too expensive to scale and thus cannot reduce CO2 levels—only offset some new emissions. Given decades, perhaps they could. But the situation is urgent.

High-tech CO2 removal is getting billions of dollars in funding now. But it costs about $600-$1,000 to remove one ton of CO2.

That’s 10,000 times more than replicating natural processes that can get the job done.

No. Direct Air Capture (DAC) and other forms of industrial CDR are simply too expensive to scale and thus cannot reduce CO2 levels—only offset some new emissions. Given decades, perhaps they could. But the situation is urgent.

High-tech CO2 removal is getting billions of dollars in funding now. But it costs about $600-$1,000 to remove one ton of CO2.

That’s 10,000 times more than replicating natural processes that can get the job done.

In the 1980s, when the world started to be concerned about global warming and the UNFCCC and IPCC were being developed, CO2 levels were still safe for humanity. Climate change was not yet perceptible. It wouldn’t have made sense to call for restoring a safe climate…because it was safe.

In that context, the UN and the world agreed to “stabilize” greenhouse gasses (GHG) in 1992. Stabilizing means reducing emissions by moving to renewable energy and increasing energy efficiency. (The term became “net-zero emissions” in the Paris Accords of 2015.)

From the beginning of climate discussions, reducing emissions became the rallying cry of climate activists everywhere, and it has remained the main goal. Few climate leaders yet address the urgent need to expand the goal, to restore a safe climate.

In the 1980s, when the world started to be concerned about global warming and the UNFCCC and IPCC were being developed, CO2 levels were still safe for humanity. Climate change was not yet perceptible. It wouldn’t have made sense to call for restoring a safe climate…because it was safe.

In that context, the UN and the world agreed to “stabilize” greenhouse gasses (GHG) in 1992. Stabilizing means reducing emissions by moving to renewable energy and increasing energy efficiency. (The term became “net-zero emissions” in the Paris Accords of 2015.)

From the beginning of climate discussions, reducing emissions became the rallying cry of climate activists everywhere, and it has remained the main goal. Few climate leaders yet address the urgent need to expand the goal, to restore a safe climate.

Climate restoration is a new paradigm. Most climate action aims to “avoid the worst effects” of climate change through reducing emissions. In contrast, climate restorers aim to achieve the best—a safe climate for our children and future generations—by using clean energy AND restoring safe CO2 levels.

​Climate restoration is a new paradigm. Most climate action aims to “avoid the worst effects” of climate change through reducing emissions. In contrast, climate restorers aim to achieve the best—a safe climate for our children and future generations—by using clean energy AND restoring safe CO2 levels.

The biggest challenge right now is that we have no national or global agreement that puts us on the path to restoring the climate for future generations.

Most climate authorities aren’t even discussing a safe climate. Most people don’t even realize it’s a possibility.

We are working to change that!

Restore the Climate is the only organization that has taken on the challenge of ensuring a safe climate by pulling down the trillion tons of legacy CO2 that’s been added to the atmosphere over the past 150 years.

Even if we stopped burning all fossil fuels today, the levels of CO2 in the air will continue to result in higher temperatures, higher sea levels, more severe weather, and food insecurity.


​The climate crisis needs reversing, urgently. We have Methane Oxidation and Ocean Iron Fertilization pilot projects ready to go that will demonstrate the safety, efficiency and scalability of these solutions to restore a safe climate with CO2 below 300 PPM by 2050.