THE
CLIMATE
RESTORATION
NETWORK

The Climate Restoration Network is a limited company established in Israel in 2021. The network accelerates the implementation in the field of solutions to deal with the climate crisis and climate restoration and deals with the initiation, planning and management of projects.

​

In 2022, the Cotton Council reported a 300% increase in the agricultural areas designated for growing cotton - from 27,000 dunams in 2021 to more than 84,000 dunams in 2022. This is as a result of an increase in demand in the world that stems from changing consumer behavior and led to a jump in cotton prices. This year (2024) cotton crops in Israel are expected to cover an area of approximately 60,000 dunams.

​

At the same time, the cotton growers in Israel are dealing with the pink caterpillar pest, which causes extensive economic losses.

The treatment currently recommended by the Cotton Council is the use of a combine in order to crush the clippings with the larvae and the caterpillar's pickets in it. In some cases, the crushed cuttings remain in the field and some are transferred to silage pits. The cost of treatment, which currently falls on the farmers, is about 50-70 NIS per dunam, that is, about 5-6 million NIS in 2022.

​

The solution proposed by the network for climate restoration is the burning of the cotton trimmings and turning it into biochar. The solution is an economic solution that generates income, and the network intends to produce the solution in a way that will reduce the cost of the aforementioned treatment, and even cover it completely.

​

In November 2023, the network for climate restoration carried out a pilot to delimit a small amount (about 20 cubic meters) of cotton trimmings and turn it into biochar. Biochar has many advantages and can be sold as a raw material for agriculture and other industries. The process of sequestration fixes the carbon for decades and even hundreds of years. For the fixed carbon, carbon certificates can be issued, which generate additional income for the project, beyond the income from the sale of the product itself.

​

According to the results of the pilot, the network experts came to the conclusion that there is potential economic feasibility for the project. The network's experts, in cooperation with the Cotton Council and other stakeholders in the cotton market, will prepare a detailed plan for deploying the solution as early as next season in September 2024.