British Airways has signed a deal to buy more than £9 million in carbon removal credits in both the UK and overseas as part of a six-year agreement.

The airline said the move makes it the largest carbon removals purchaser in the UK and comes as part of its sustainability efforts to reach its 2030 decarbonisation target, and ultimately contribute to its 2050 net-zero goal.

The company said it is working with Cur8, a UK-based company that aims to source high quality credits, to buy 33,000 tonnes of carbon removal credits.

Buying these credits means money will go towards projects that can remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, such as reforestation, peat restoration or emerging technology that captures carbon from the air and stores it underground.

They are considered a vital tool to offset residual hard-to-abate emissions after significant decarbonisation efforts.

The scope of nature conservation and restoration work needed to support ecosystems and biodiversity through the changing climate will also require large amounts of private capital.

But environmentalists have long been sceptical of the carbon offset market with investigations exposing dodgy carbon accounting behind the credits being sold.

Many experts have also argued that carbon credits can allow companies in polluting sectors to delay more impactful work on reducing emissions at source.

British Airways said its removal portfolio includes a scheme to capture CO2 emissions from whisky distilleries in Scotland that will be repurposed into building materials.

The money is also contributing to another project that uses an enhanced rock weathering technique to lock away carbon for thousands of years, involving multiple locations in the UK, British Airways said.

The airline said it will purchase credits from two companies specialising in high-durability reforestation projects, increasing the amount of forested land in Scotland and Wales.

Oversees projects include carbon removal from Canadian rivers and oceans using alkaline rock particles, and a biochar project in India that empowers female farmers while enhancing soil biodiversity and farm yields.

Carrie Harris, director of sustainability at British Airways, said: “As we approach the halfway point in this critical decade of action, we’re sharpening our focus on delivering real, tangible progress by 2030.

“While small in comparison to our total emissions, these projects are crucial in stimulating the carbon removals market.

“By supporting pioneering solutions, we’re not only contributing to immediate progress but also laying the groundwork for the large-scale changes needed to meet our climate goals. There is no pathway to net zero for aviation without carbon removals.”

In addition to the partnerships facilitated by Cur8, British Airways has also purchased a small number of carbon removal credits from Climeworks, which operates the world’s two largest direct air capture plants in Iceland, and 1PointFive, a US-based company that is developing a direct air capture plant in Texas.

This technology is seen as potentially the only way to decarbonise some industries but it is still nascent and the scientific viability of long-term carbon storage remains uncertain.

Elsewhere, British Airways is also investing in sustainable aviation fuel projects in the UK and USA and decarbonising its ground vehicles.