How We Help Clients

Carbon management

Responsibly manage CO2 emissions on the path to net zero
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We help our clients manage CO2, scale carbon capture and removal solutions, and navigate carbon markets

Pressure is mounting to make credible net-zero commitments. Acting now to invest in carbon management—a holistic approach to reducing, removing, and offsetting emissions—will enable organizations to lead in a rapidly evolving external landscape.

To cut global emissions in line with climate goals, swift scale-up and significant investments are needed in carbon markets, carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) and CO2 removal (CDR) solutions. For CDR alone, investments of between $400.0 billion and $1.6 trillion more by 2030 are needed to achieve 2050 targets.

Our extensive expertise, advanced analytics, and interactive insights allow us to partner with clients to develop and invest in new businesses and infrastructure, to expand the industry, and to create value on the path to net zero.

What we do

Prevent CO2 from entering the atmosphere to meet net-zero targets
CCUS helps companies capture CO2 before it’s released into the atmosphere from point sources, reducing the emissions of existing infrastructure, especially for hard-to-abate sectors. We partner with clients to identify CCUS projects and industrial hubs that are resilient and adaptable with market mechanisms that balance risk and value.
Remove CO2 from the atmosphere to reduce residual emissions
Nature-based removals (NBR) and technology-based removals (TBR) help neutralize residual emissions where physical, operational, or economic barriers limit decarbonization. NBR uses natural processes while TBR employs manufactured technologies to remove CO2. We work with CDR developers, buyers, investors, and public entities to build and deploy CDR solutions.
Navigate carbon markets to capture opportunities and mitigate risk

Carbon markets allow companies and individuals to trade carbon credits and drive investment in carbon compensation and neutralization projects to offset emissions.

Corporates, investors, public-sector organizations, and NGOs use our assets and modeling to gain insight into carbon credit prices, supply, and demand in various market scenarios. We help establish infrastructure for voluntary carbon markets so clients can use them effectively.

Featured Capabilities

CCUS Hub Explorer and Cost Model
Using a suite of CCUS assets, including emissions and storage databases and cost and source-sink geospatial models, Hub Explorer helps companies identify the most cost-effective hubs and value chain configurations for their CCUS initiatives, contributing to a more efficient approach to carbon management.
CDR Solutions Tracker and Cost Models
The CDR Solutions Tracker and Cost Models are a collection of assets and proprietary data designed to help businesses and investors make informed financial decisions about how to build, invest, and deploy CDR solutions to neutralize residual emissions.
Carbon Markets Model

Our models for voluntary and compliance carbon markets provide scenarios on market demand, supply, and prices and unrivaled analytics underpinned by McKinsey’s expertise. This data can be used by investors, project developers, and companies to make strategic decisions on carbon credit procurement and investments.

Get in touch

I am proud to work with major companies, organizations, and investors to rapidly scale and capture the full potential of their carbon management solutions.

Shruti Badri
Associate partner, London

Case Studies

Carbon markets
We helped TPG embark on a new business-building journey to incubate, create, and launch Rubicon Carbon, a carbon management platform. We designed and launched two minimum viable products with purchase commitments targeting >$1 billion
Carbon Dioxide Removals (CDR)
We supported a pre-FID (final investment decision) capex optimization for the first BECCS (bioenergy with carbon capture and storage) plant in a larger portfolio. Our capital expertise helped achieve 35 percent capex optimization and reduce owner risk by 50 percent.
Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS)

We helped a Southeast Asian oil and gas company develop a CCS-as-a-service strategy to deliver 9 MTPA of CO2 sequestration by 2030 and >$200 million in annual cash flow with long-life CO2 offtake arrangements.

FEATURED PARTNERSHIP

Frontier is the over $1 billion advance market commitment (AMC) to purchase permanent carbon removal before 2030 by McKinsey Sustainability in collaboration with fellow founders Alphabet, Meta, Shopify, and Stripe. Frontier aims to accelerate the development of permanent carbon removal technologies and expand the global supply of carbon removal.

Our People

Vishal Agarwal
Vishal Agarwal
Leads our energy and basic-materials work in Southeast Asia with a focus on transformation, digital operations, and Industry 4.0
Thomas Kansy
Leads our work on carbon markets globally; helps corporations decarbonize and investors find value within the climate ecosystem, as well as launch and scale businesses
Tolga Oguz
Supports leading institutions globally on transforming businesses and meeting sustainability goals
Emma Parry
Helps clients in the public and private sectors create sustainable strategies; leads our work on Carbon Management globally and our Strategy & Corporate Finance work in the UK
Mark Patel
Advises clients across sectors on sustainability with a focus on climate technologies; leads client work across industrial, high-tech, and semiconductor sectors
Shruti Badri
Shruti Badri
Works with clients across the nature and carbon markets eco-system to accelerate their deployment and adoption
See LinkedIn bio
Elaine Almeida
Elaine Almeida
Advises our energy sector clients in decarbonization and carbon management, focusing on direct air capture (DAC) and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), to enhance their low-carbon initiatives
See LinkedIn bio

Featured Insights

Six circles of increasing sizes layered over one another in a paper cut out style. Each circle has a mix of carbon removal solutions represented on it including direct air capture fans, biomass carbon remediation trucks and factory storage, biochar tractor, mangroves, kelp buoys, and forest restoration. Business people walk around buildings are also interspersed though the scenes and friendly clouds float by.
Report

Carbon removals: How to scale a new gigaton industry

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CO2 removal (CDR) capacity is far from the gigaton scale needed to round out businesses’ net-zero efforts by 2050. We explore a mature CDR market’s potential and possible first-mover advantages.
Aerial view of trees and water
Article
CO2 removal solutions: A buyer’s perspective
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As climate change impact becomes increasingly apparent, the adoption of decarbonization commitments is accelerating. Companies are acting rapidly and decisively to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and neutralize residual emissions.
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Report
Putting carbon markets to work on the path to net zero
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As the drive to curb global warming gathers pace, carbon markets have become increasingly fundamental to achieving net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions. Institutional investors can play a critical role.
Driving CO2 emissions to zero (and beyond) with carbon capture, use, and storage
Article - McKinsey Quarterly
Driving CO2 emissions to zero (and beyond) with carbon capture, use, and storage
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Any pathway to mitigate climate change requires the rapid reduction of CO2 emissions and negative-emissions technologies to cut atmospheric concentrations. Technology and regulation will be the key.

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