Carbon Offtake Guide by CrossBoundary and Symbiosis Coalition

Symbiosis Coalition engaged CrossBoundary to develop this practical guide to help demystify the performance assurance requirements of long-term carbon removal offtake agreements and support more efficient deal-making in the near term. In addition to drawing on Symbiosis’ own engagement with its members, and CrossBoundary’s transaction and investment experience in natural capital and infrastructure projects, the team conducted wide-ranging interviews with developers, buyers, and investors to inform the development of this guide.

By helping actors navigate the choices they face today while laying the groundwork for better solutions tomorrow, this guide aims to help developers and buyers to structure agreements that are fair, financeable, and capable of driving the scale of climate and nature impact the world urgently needs.

The Carbon Offtake Guide addresses the critical challenge of managing delivery risk in long-term carbon offtake agreements for nature-based carbon removal projects, contracts that underpin the financing and scaling of such projects.

As the carbon market matures, buyers (often sophisticated corporate procurement teams with experience in more mature commodity markets) and developers (frequently early-stage, undercapitalized companies) can face a mismatch in financial strength and experience. This imbalance, compounded by high capital costs, means that the management and allocation of financial risks and liabilities, including security requirements, shortfall obligations, and other potential damages in contracts can become challenging for developers, even as buyers remain committed to supporting the emergence of high-quality supply and growing the market overall. Whilst these issues may be applicable to all types of carbon projects, this guide focuses on nature-based carbon removal projects and their associated risks and mitigants.