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Carbon Removal Newsroom

Carbon Removal Newsroom

By Nori

A panel show by Nori where guests discuss current events from the world of carbon removal.
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Carbon Removal NewsroomDec 03, 2021

00:00
32:02
The Rise of Climate Law within Carbon Removal

The Rise of Climate Law within Carbon Removal

Law structures so much of our lives, but can feel inaccessible to those untrained. It is also in flux! How is the law being changed in response to climate change? Which laws can be adapted to suit our climate-changing country and world? And which are unprepared for new challenges?

Today's episode of Carbon Removal Newsroom is hosted by Radhika Moolgavkar, Nori's VP of Supply and Methodology. She is joined by Romany Webb, the Deputy Director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at the Columbia Law School.

They discuss the evolving field of climate law, its critical role in the development of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies, and the unique legal challenges presented by ocean-based CDR methods. Webb highlights the growing interest among law students in climate technology and emphasizes the importance of legal frameworks in addressing climate change. The conversation delves into the complexities of international and local laws governing oceans, the innovative concept of Community Benefits Agreements for climate projects, and the positive feedback on model law proposals intended to regulate CDR activities safely.

The episode underscores the necessity of a diverse portfolio of CDR solutions to combat the climate crisis and explores the legal opportunities and challenges facing the CDR industry’s advancement.

On This Episode

⁠⁠Radhika Moolgavkar⁠⁠

Romany Webb

Resources

Sabin Center for Change Law at the Columbia Law School

Connect with Nori

⁠⁠Nori⁠⁠

⁠⁠Nori’s X account⁠⁠

Nori’s other podcast ⁠⁠Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠

Nori’s CDR ⁠⁠meme X account

Mar 12, 202425:09
Biotech Trees w/ Living Carbon
Mar 05, 202423:49
New CDR Developments in the EU
Feb 26, 202434:53
Is Large-Scale CDR Sustainable?
Feb 13, 202434:16
Photochemical Carbon Removal w/Banyu Carbon

Photochemical Carbon Removal w/Banyu Carbon

What is Photochemical Carbon Removal?

In this episode of Carbon Removal Newsroom we learn how two professors from the University of Washington went from studying coral on the late Marlon Brando’s private island, to developing an energy efficient process that removes carbon dioxide from the ocean.

Join co-founders Dr. Alex Gagnon and Dr. Julian Sachs of Banyu Carbon, as they dissect their groundbreaking photochemical process. Learn how carbon dioxide is the most abundant dissolved gas in water, making it a more concentrated source than ambient air.

Discover the scalability of photochemical CDR, and why Banyu’s been gaining so much momentum lately. Could Banyu’s process end up being energy negative? In other words, will it produce more energy than is actually required to remove the carbon?

Listen now.


*A special Thank You from our guests to the Seeley Family:

“Thank you to David Seeley and his father who brought Tetiaroa to our attention in 2014 and encouraged us to take advantage of the pristine coral ecosystem there for our research. The Seeley family generously supported our research and that of several others ever since. A kind, fun, and remarkable family we are grateful to have worked with.”


On This Episode

Alex Gagnon

Julian Sachs

Radhika Moolgavkar

Resources

Banyu Carbon

DOE Voucher Program

University of Washington marine research on Tetiaroa

Activate FellowshipOcean Visions Launchpad 

Tetiaroa Society

The Brando resort


Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s X account

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme X account

Feb 06, 202435:20
Can CDR weather the climate tech downturn

Can CDR weather the climate tech downturn

How’s the CDR economic outlook for 2024?

Sightline Climate recently reported that investment for the entire climate tech industry dropped 30% in 2023. Similarly, Pitchdeck released a report specifically outlining carbon removal's recent dip in VC funding. However, Captura just announced a $21.5 million Series A raise.

So is CDR immune to the climate tech investing downturn?

In this episode of Carbon Removal Newsroom, we talk about market responses to uncertainty, the role of large offtake agreements as funding mechanisms, and what stage governments are currently at in their carbon removal journeys.

Tune in to hear about the latest CDR Market Outlook Survey, Kenya’s proposed 15-25% carbon credit export tax, and if what we really need are some experienced solar folks to jump into the CDR waters. 


On This Episode

Susan Su

Na’im Merchant

Radhika Moolgavkar

Resources

CDR Market Outlook SurveyCTVC market reportPitchdeck reportKenya’s proposed taxCarbon Removal Canada

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s X account

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme X account


Jan 24, 202438:44
New CDR Policy and Resources in 2024

New CDR Policy and Resources in 2024

What's new in carbon removal? Join us for the 2024 Carbon Removal Newsroom kickoff!

Will 2024 see the emergence of universal carbon market standards? December saw a coalition formed by leading regulatory bodies. 

We unpack the implications of California Bill 1305. How does this legislation mandate transparency in voluntary carbon offset marketing? What could this mean for combating greenwashing and ensuring data reliability?

The EPA resources for marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) and marine solar radiation management (mSRM) are now online. How do these resources address environmental risks, and what regulatory responsibilities are outlined for safe implementation?How might common principles for high-quality carbon credits reshape industry practices, and what's the significance of transparency and public participation in this process?

Join us as our policy panel takes a look at what’s cooking for CDR in 2024.


On This Episode

Wil Burns

Holly Jean Buck

Radhika Moolgavkar

Resources

Article 6.4 Mechanism

Crediting Program joint statement California Bill 1305

EPA MPRSA

The London Convention

mCDR and mSRM online resources

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s X account

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change
Nori’s CDR meme X account

Jan 16, 202433:07
Carbon Removal at COP28 + 2023's CDR Wrapped

Carbon Removal at COP28 + 2023's CDR Wrapped

Dec 19, 202333:32
Progress on Woody Biomass Burial

Progress on Woody Biomass Burial

Biomass burial is a CDR methodology that we haven’t yet dug into on our show. Compared to some CDR techniques, biomass burial is a surprisingly simple approach. It involves burying wood trimmings underground to prevent decomposition and thus, the release of carbon back into the atmosphere.

Our guests today are Ning Zeng, a professor at the University of Maryland and founder of Carbon Lockdown, and Daniel Sanchez, chief scientist for biomass carbon removal and storage at Carbon Direct. 

They are both developing this methodology which attempts to take advantage of nature's ability to capture CO2 in trees. By creating wood vaults in a underground oxygen-free environment - they aim to preserve carbon for potentially thousands of years.

This method has begun to garner attention from investors, offset marketplaces like Puro, and the media.

On this episode we'll explore the science behind biomass burial, its potential impact on reducing atmospheric CO2, and how it fits into the larger CDR portfolio. 

 

On This Episode

Ning Zeng

Daniel Sanchez

Radhika Moolgavkar

Resources

Carbon Lockdown

Ning’s academic work on Wood Vault approach

Puro listing for Carbon Lockdown Potomac project

Greenbiz article about woody biomass burial

Implementation Guidance

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

Dec 12, 202334:46
What Changed for CDR in 2023- and What Didn't

What Changed for CDR in 2023- and What Didn't

2023 is coming to a close, and a lot has happened in the world of CDR this year.

We’re going to take a look at the year in carbon removal to find out what’s changed in the last year- and what hasn’t. 

Investment in CDR remains strong, with many big deals making headlines- but what hasn’t changed? Deployments remain small and few in number.

The traditional offset market has faced scrutiny like never before, and seen a dip in investment. What’s still the same? Corporate buyers are still seeking out the lowest quality products.

Broadly climate progress is being made, but a new emissions gap report highlights how much more work there is and how much CDR has to grow to contribute. 

So join us as our business panel takes a look at what’s new in CDR, and what’s the same as it ever was. 

 

On This Episode

Susan Su

Na’im Merchant

Radhika Moolgavkar

Resources

Oxy-Climeworks Deal

New Frontier DAC Purchase

Heirloom Announces First US DAC Plant

Carbon Market Chaos

Bloomberg Report on Offsets

UN Emissions Gap Report

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

 

Dec 05, 202340:54
Is There a Role for Mandates to Drive CDR?

Is There a Role for Mandates to Drive CDR?

This week, we’re bringing you a panel discussion from the Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy’s annual CDR conference. Our policy panelist, Wil Burns, hosted the conference and led this panel discussion on the role of mandates in growing CDR in the US.

The US government has stepped forward into the role of subsidizing and encouraging CDR in recent years, offering a ‘carrot’ to promote the new industry, in the form of large grants and tax incentives. But what could the government do to present a ‘stick’- requiring CDR using existing regulations?

That’s the topic of this policy panel featuring Dan Galpern, the Executive Director of the Climate Protection and Restoration Initiative, and Stephanie Arcusa, a researcher at the Arizona State University Center for Negative Carbon Emissions. 

Dan spoke about using the Toxic Substances Control Act to regulate carbon emissions, including the possibility of mandating carbon dioxide removal as a condition for allowing ongoing emissions. He argues that the TSCA provides clear authority for such regulation, citing past precedents and legal interpretations.

Stephanie discusses the concept of a Carbon Take Back Obligation, which would require fossil fuel producers to sequester a ton of carbon for every ton they extract. This policy aims to gradually transition to net-zero emissions by creating a demand for carbon removal and applying the policy upstream in the fossil fuel supply chain.

Both approaches aim to address the challenges of scaling up carbon removal and mitigating climate change, but they also raise questions about political feasibility, environmental justice, and the impact on consumers, particularly those in lower-income households.

We hope you enjoy this high-level look at the policy levers that may one day lead to the scaling up of CDR.  


On This Episode

Wil Burns

Dan Galpern

Stephanie Arcusa

Resources

Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy

UN Production Gap Report

Toxic Substances Control Act

EU Industrial Net-Zero Act

CA’s CDR Market Development Act

CBTO in the news

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

 

Nov 21, 202345:59
Carbon Removal India Alliance

Carbon Removal India Alliance

In recent months, we’ve covered CDR developments in the EU, followed CDR’s role in international climate agreements, and interviewed startups working to bring DAC to Kenya. There’s so much happening with CDR around the globe that it’s a challenge to cover all the news of carbon removal’s rise.

That’s why on this episode we’re fortunate to have Tom Mills and Shantanu Agarwal join us today to share their work scaling up CDR in India with a new consortium called Carbon Removal Alliance India (CRIA). 

Tom is a co-founder of the organization, and Shantanu is a founder of Mati, an enhanced rock weathering startup in India that is a member of CRIA. 

India has existing climate policies, immense amounts of working lands, a rising working-age population, and a wealth of business and science resources. Can these assets allow it to become a CDR powerhouse? 

Our guests today will tell us about their work, what they think of India’s CDR potential, and what needs to happen within India to unlock carbon removal there.

 

On This Episode 

Tom Mills

Shantanu Agarwal

Radhika Moolgavkar

Resources

Our Episodes on the EU & Kenya

Susteon & Sustaera- Shantanu’s previous companies

Carbon Removal Alliance India

Mati

Carbon Removal Partners

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

Nov 07, 202337:36
CDR Industry Responds to Scrutiny

CDR Industry Responds to Scrutiny

As CDR’s notoriety increases, so too does the scrutiny upon it. Carbon removal companies are beginning to deploy in communities, and are facing local concerns about the effect their projects will have communities. As these companies work to communicate the benefits of their projects, a CDR trade group is announcing a new program to help companies responsibly deploy carbon removal. 

 

Scrutiny of CDR continues in the press as well. 

 

An article from Reuters tracked the growing effort to standardize and legitimize CDR as startups and marketplaces try to attract large corporate buyers, showing that the industry is now front and center on business pages worldwide. 

 

And the year’s biggest climate event is around the corner. A group of CDR organizations, including one led by today’s guest, are working to ensure the industry is ready as the global climate spotlight prepares to turn on them. The debates over CDR at COP28 will surely be contentious, and we’ll hear about a new effort to make the carbon removal community ready for when that happens. 

 

Locally, and globally, from communities to newsrooms to international bodies, CDR is under scrutiny like never before. In this episode, we’re discussing what the industry can do to respond and continue to grow. 

 

On this episode we’re joined today by Ben Rubin, the Carbon Business Council’s Executive Director, a trade organization representing over 100 CDR businesses. Welcome, Ben. 

 

We’re also joined by our regular policy panelist, Susan Su, a partner focused on climate investing at TOBA Capital. She also serves as a board member of the Carbon Business Council and a board advisor to the Environmental Voter Project.


On This Episode

Ben Rubin

Susan Su

Asa Kamer

Resources

Carbon Business Council

CDR RDT

Confidence Ebbs in Carbon Markets- article

Study: 13% of Renewable Projects that Face Opposition are Completed

Reuter’s ‘Wild West’ article

“Three Big Letters in CDR are MRV”

CDR.fyi

NextGen CDR Facility

Carbon Removals at COP

Our Episode with Sebastian Manhart

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

 

Oct 31, 202338:20
New Science Says Biochar is Very Permanent

New Science Says Biochar is Very Permanent

In our guest’s corner of the geoscience field, inertinites are well-known to be stable forms of carbon. So Hamed Sanei was surprised to learn that there was significant debate over the stability of CO2 storage in biochar, which is an inertinite. In his view, the science of that question has been settled for a long time, and the answer is clear: biochar is durable carbon removal. 

Biochar represented 92% of permanent carbon removal sales in the first part of 2023. 

It is technologically ready and accessible by a larger share of businesses and populations than other ‘permanent methods’ due to its relatively low-tech production. A recent report found it could one day deliver three gigatons of CDR annually. More investment money is flowing to companies doing biochar, and it has become a staple of CDR portfolios among buyers who are diversifying. 

Not only that, but it is thousands of years old and works as a soil amendment that helps crop productivity. It can be made from various biomass types, and the potential uses are just as numerous.

However, a major question has hovered over the reputation of biochar: Is the carbon removed from the atmosphere by biochar stored permanently, or will it quickly seep back into the air?

However, recent research has drawn some optimistic conclusions. 

Hamed walks us through why there has been debate, what his research has found, and why he thinks the debate over carbon storage permanence needs to be closed so that the biochar community can focus on improving and scaling the use of biochar.

 

On This Episode

Radhika Moolgavkar

Hamed Sanei

Resources

CDR.fyi- How Much of CDR Sales are Biochar

Report on Global Potential of Biochar

Recent Biochar Purchase from Microsoft

Biochar is 1000’s of Year Old!

Hamed’s Research

The Lithospheric Organic Carbon Lab

European Biochar Industry Consortium

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

 

Oct 24, 202329:28
U.S. Government Becomes a CDR Buyer

U.S. Government Becomes a CDR Buyer

A few weeks ago, the US government announced it would directly purchase carbon removal. The Department of Energy released news of a $35 million fund to procure CDR credits. The prize fund will take the form of offtake agreements and cover four pathways. 

More and more governments are funding CDR pilots, supporting research, and adding CDR targets to their climate plans. CDR has quickly entered an era of widespread support throughout North America and Europe. 

But while the support is wide, it is also shallow; most policies take the form of modest grants or targets, with a few more ambitious countries leading the way.

Many CDR commentators have come to the conclusion that without a compliance market, carbon removal won’t ever scale up. 

On this episode we asked our policy panel about recent government actions on CDR: will they work, are they enough, and what more needs to be done? Are today’s policies sufficient to get us where we need to go?

Radhika is joined by Wil Burns, Co-Executive Director of the Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy at American University, and Holly Jean Buck, Assistant Professor of Environment and Sustainability at the University at Buffalo.

 

On This Episode

Radhika Moolgavkar

Wil Burns

Holly Jean Buck

Resources

DOE Announces CDR Procurement

National Academy Report on CDR Research

DOE RFP for Responsible Carbon Management

Congress Members Letter on CO2 Pipelines

Heirloom commitment to DOE principles

Boston Consulting Group Report

Reykjavik Protocol

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

Oct 17, 202333:26
CDR Policy is 'Hot' in the EU

CDR Policy is 'Hot' in the EU

Not long ago it was difficult to find any information about the carbon removal ecosystem in Europe. Beyond academic papers, and a researcher or two at larger environmental non-profits, CDR policy was not an area with a mature ecosystem.

The situation is much different today. Not only is the EU considering ways to incorporate removals into their existing cap-and-trade scheme, but there are non-profits, carbon marketplaces, startups, and a new trade group offering sophisticated information and analysis of the rapidly developing CDR policy landscape in Europe.

One of them is Carbon Gap they describe themselves as “a science-based and philanthropy-funded expert non-profit"   NGO working to bring just and equitable carbon removal policies to Europe through informed scientific research. Launched two years ago, the organisation keeps the carbon removal ecosystem informed through its Policy Tracker and regularly publishes articles.” Their most recent piece released last week approaches the thorny topic of avoiding emissions deterrence.

Their senior researcher is Kayla Cohen, whose work focuses on the developing soil carbon policies in Europe and climate justice issues.

Another organization that continues to provide high-level insight in Europe is Carbonfuture, a marketplace for ‘durable’ carbon credits. They claim over 40% of the market for durable carbon removal this year. And luckily for the public they also continue to publish information on the CDR market, including work on the topic of creating a trusted and inclusive MRV system, which we delved into on this show just a few weeks ago. The author of much of this work is their Senior Policy Advisor Sebastian Manhart.

The EU is poised to be a world leader in CDR, as it has been with climate policy. It features ambitious climate targets, robust academic research in the field, a talented labor pool, and a sophisticated non-profit sector taking on the challenge. But it also faces many of the headwinds found elsewhere against CDR such as high-costs, ambivalence from some of the public and existing environmental sector, fear of moral hazard, and broader macro-economic challenges threatening investment into newer climate tech.

On this episode Kayla and Sebastian join to talk about the current situation in Europe, the developments they’d like to see, and where they predict policy will be in 2030 and beyond.

 

On This Episode

Sebastian Manhart

Kayla Cohen

Asa Kamer

 

Resources

Carbonfuture

Carbon Gap

Carbon Gap article on ‘solutions to mitigation deterrence’

Our show on Carbonfuture’s work on Trust + MRV

EU Soil Monitoring Law

Sebastian’s Article on Incorporating CDR in the ETS

Kayla’s Article on the EU Soil Monitoring Law

Carbonfuture report on CDR law in 31 EU States

 

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

Oct 10, 202348:08
Lots Happening in CDR Business
Oct 03, 202351:31
Building the MRV Tech of the Future

Building the MRV Tech of the Future

Carbon removal credits need to be much more trustworthy than carbon offsets are today in order to scale-up CDR.

On last week’s show, we covered the news that the voluntary carbon markets have shrunk this year. After many carbon offset projects have come under scrutiny, corporate buyers have grown more hesitant.

To prove that carbon removal is worth investing in and better than the status quo, project developers and sellers of credits will need to be able to prove that a credit sold actually means CO2 was removed from the air. 

It’s one thing to do that in a lab when the technique is being developed in a lab. It’s another to do it at scale, in the field, in real-world conditions. 

The tools available today won’t be enough to create market-wide trust. What software, MRV, and accounting technologies are being built today, that will manage the carbon markets of the future?

Dr. Anna Lehner at Carbonfuture is one of the people trying to answer this question. Today, we’re talking to Anna about how a wide range of CDR methodologies can be measured, quantified, certified, and sold to make it easy for buyers, all while creating more trust in the market. 

On This Episode

Radhika Moolgavkar

Dr. Anna Lehner

Resources

Carbonfuture

Carbonfuture’s Trust Framework

SBTi Standards

cdr.fyi

Robert Höglund’s post on which companies are buying carbon removal

CCS+ Initiative

European CRCF

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

 

Sep 26, 202336:50
Tipping Point for Carbon Markets?

Tipping Point for Carbon Markets?

The voluntary carbon market (VCM) has a total value of over $2 billion, and some predictions show it growing to $10 billion in just a few years. 

But the integrity of the carbon offsets available has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years, causing demand to slow and prices to go down.

According to a new report from Morgan Stanley the market is approaching a ‘tipping point’, as more and more companies hesitate to stake their environmental claims on offsets that may be debunked in the newspaper the next day.

If the market does hit a tipping point, what’s next? And what does it mean for the companies and governments hoping that “carbon removal” can fill the gap with a more reliable type of offset?

Our panel will take a look at implications of the oil company Oxy purchasing Carbon Engineering. Is big oil good for DAC? 

Whether or not oil and gas should be involved in carbon removal is healthy debate within the CDR community, and this announcement made headlines in the broader environmental media too. 

Listen to hear what our policy panel, Holly Buck and Wil Burns, think about this news and its aftermath. 

On This Episode

Radhika Moolgavkar

Wil Burns

Holly Jean Buck

Resources

Size of VCMs

Article on “Tipping Point” report

West et al. Paper on Carbon Offsets

Liberia + Dubai Offset Deal

Oxy buys Carbon Engineering

NOAA Awards

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

Sep 19, 202334:50
10 CDR Headlines from July
Aug 01, 202344:06
Southern Hemisphere's First DAC w/ Octavia
Jul 25, 202330:45
Global Policy Roundup

Global Policy Roundup

We’ve been covering a lot of US state and federal CDR policy in the last few episodes. Today we’re taking a much-needed international trip and discussing some critical stories happening across the globe. 

Zimbabwe’s government has announced new regulations on voluntary carbon offset trading to prevent greenwashing and ensure that local communities benefit. Carbon credit schemes in Zimbabwe have been unregulated. The new policy mandates that all carbon projects register with the program, ensuring that a percentage of the revenue goes directly to local communities. 

Deforestation rates in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest have fallen by 33.6% during the first six months of 2023 under the new administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. This contrasts sharply with the record-breaking deforestation rates in 2022 under former president Jair Bolsonaro, who promoted mining and farming in protected areas.

The UK government has announced comprehensive changes to its Emissions Trading Scheme: a program designed to decarbonize the country eventually. The ETS will now include more sectors, set new emissions limits for the power sector, energy-intensive industries, and aviation, and incorporate carbon removal technologies into the ETS. CDR solutions, like direct air capture, BECCs, and nature-based removals, will now be traded in the ETS program. 

Today I’m with our regular policy panel of Holly Buck Assistant Professor of Environment and Sustainability at the University at Buffalo and the author of Ending Fossil Fuels, and Wil Burns the Co-Executive Director of the Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy at American University.

On This Show

Holly Jean Buck

Wil Burns

Radhika Moolgavkar

Resources

New Zimbabwe Regulations

Amazon Deforestation Decrease

Cerrado Deforestation Increase

“Brazilian Amazon Indigenous Territories” paper

Petrobras Increasing Oil Output

UK ETS Changes

Drax BECCS projects

Our Episode on California’s SB 308

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account


Jul 18, 202331:45
Carbon180 and Xprize on Environmental Justice

Carbon180 and Xprize on Environmental Justice

The Xprize’s Carbon Removal prize has been one of the most exciting stories in CDR. As it seeks to pump $100 million towards carbon removal projects, the organization is also taking steps to ensure that funding supports companies that benefit, rather than harm, the communities they work in. 

This is no small detail, but in fact a main question about the future of carbon removal: can it become embraced by local communities who will host projects? We’ve been focusing on that very question on this show because we feel it is just as important as funding news and scientific advancements. 

In order to help build an environmentally just industry, Xprize has partnered with Carbon180 to write a comprehensive report on environmental justice in the context of carbon removal projects. 

This report discusses the importance of environmental justice for carbon removal companies, the concept of climate justice, and the need for fair distribution of project benefits.

In this episode we’re joined by two of the authors of this report, who are leading the effort build environmental justice into the CDR industry: Nikki Batchelor, the Executive Director of the Carbon Removal Prize, and Ugbaad Kosar, the Director of Environmental Justice for Carbon180.

On The Show

Ugbaad Kosar

Nikki Batchelor

Radhika Moolgavkar

Resources

Xprize Carbon Removal

Carbon180

From the Ground Up report

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

 

 

 

 

Jul 11, 202339:47
Ambitious CDR Activism in California

Ambitious CDR Activism in California

If you’ve been following the development of CDR policy, you’ve probably heard of the volunteer advocacy group OpenAir Collective. Just a few weeks ago our guest Sebastian Manhart said on this show “There’s no state that has policy movement that OpenAir collective didn’t have their fingers all over. I’m really impressed by the results of this kind of grassroots activism." 

Now, OpenAir is working to pass SB308 in the U.S.’s largest economy: California. This proposed bill mandates that high-emitting facilities purchase "negative emissions credits" to offset their climate impact. It would be the first state-level legislation to create a compliance mechanism carbon removal. 

This legislation makes polluters pay to remove CO2, a statewide public-sector source of funds that would have a catalytic effect on the CDR industry.

On this episode we’re joined by one of the founders of OpenAir, a leader of the advocacy effort in California, and the Director of Initiatives at Rethinking Removals: Chris Neidl. 

Chris will help us understand the workings of SB308, its potential contribution towards California's climate targets, and share his personal experiences advocating for this important legislation. 

On This Episode

Radhika Moolgavkar

Chris Neidl 

Resources

OpenAir Collective

Our Ep w/ Sebastian Manhart

SB308

Josh Becker

OpenAir Action Page for SB308

Join a Citizen Lobbying Call

Sign the Support Letter for Companies and Orgs

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

 

Jul 04, 202328:35
[Bonus Ep- Rebroadcast] Time to Think Small w/ Todd Myers

[Bonus Ep- Rebroadcast] Time to Think Small w/ Todd Myers

This conversation is a re-run of a segment from an episode we released earlier this month. 

On this episode we welcome a thought leader in free-market environmental policy - Todd Myers, the Director of the Center for the Environment at the Washington Policy Center. His 2022 book, “Time to Think Small: How nimble environmental technologies can solve the planet’s biggest problems,” sheds light on how compact, innovative technologies are giving individuals the power to safeguard endangered wildlife, cut back on CO2 emissions, and combat the issue of ocean plastic.

With his extensive background in environmental policy and public relations, Todd offers a unique perspective on the interplay between the marketplace and environmental action. "Todd's insights are set to provide a clear understanding of the political and social dynamics facing advocates of carbon removal in the environmental landscape."

Just last month, a landmark decision in Washington State made headlines as it became the first in the U.S. to pass its capital budget with funding specifically allocated for carbon dioxide removal, or CDR. This move is groundbreaking as it goes beyond just CO2, marking the first time a U.S. state has endorsed investments into technologies designed to actively remove a full spectrum of greenhouse gases, including methane and nitrous oxide, from our atmosphere.

The state will distribute these funds—totaling $12 million—as grants. Businesses, academic institutions, and non-profit organizations can apply, leveraging this opportunity to further their research, development, and demonstration projects focused on carbon and greenhouse gas removal. This decision is a timely one. 

Todd and Radhika talk about his work on environmental policy, its applications to carbon removal, and the recent news from Washington State. 


On This Episode

Radhika Moolgavkar

Todd Myers

Resources

Washington Policy Center

“Time to Think Small”

Washington State Funding

Connect with Nori

Nori

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Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

Jun 30, 202332:14
3 CDR Startups Making Moves

3 CDR Startups Making Moves

CDR startups are under pressure from numerous sources including current economic downturns, criticisms from the United Nations about carbon removal methods, and problems within the carbon offset market. Despite these challenges, significant investments continue to flow into the industry. This is largely due to the perception among investors that CDR plays a crucial role in reaching the goal of net-zero emissions.

In this episode our business panel analyze the impacts of three recent significant announcements from CDR startups.

  • Charm Industrial has secured a $100 million Series B funding round to further their bio-oil pyrolysis approach.
  • Carbon to Sea has successfully obtained $50 million in philanthropic funding to progress their work on ocean alkalinity enhancement.
  • Newcomer DAC startup, Holocene, has formed a partnership with the Department of Energy to accelerate their next-generation technology from lab to market. 

These developments represent new scientific research supported by philanthropy, fresh cutting-edge technology, and significant funding efforts. Radhika and the business panel unpack what these milestones mean for CDR startups.

Providing expert commentary and analysis on these developments are Na’im Merchant and Susan Su. They lend their expertise to help us understand the potential implications these headlines will have on the future of the CDR sector.

On This Episode

Na’im Merchant

Susan Su

Radhika Moolgavkar

Resources

Charm funding

Carbon to Sea news

Holocene article

Prime Coalition

Na’im’s Carbon Curve episode w/ panel from Carbon Unbound

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

Jun 27, 202338:18
Tracking the CDR Policy Explosion w/ Sebastian Manhart

Tracking the CDR Policy Explosion w/ Sebastian Manhart

On this episode we’re joined by Sebastian Manhart, a tech entrepreneur and policy expert who is serving as the Senior Policy Advisor at Carbonfuture, a purveyor of high-quality CDR credits based in Germany. 

He is analyzing the growth of CDR policy worldwide and has recently published “CDR Policy Maturity” across all 50 U.S. states. This comprehensive report maps each state’s progress based on factors like specific CDR targets, funding incentives, and legal frameworks.

We’ll hear about what states are leading the way, the role of federal policy in pushing things forward, and the challenges of public acceptability.

Sebastian also fills us in on a new CDR trade organization in Germany, which will work to focus the world’s fourth biggest economy on drawing down co2 and his gives insights on some recent industry gatherings he’s attended. 

Join Radhika and Sebastian as they talk about the explosive growth of CDR policy throughout the U.S. and Europe. 

On This Episode

Radhika Moolgavkar

Sebastian Manhart

Resources

Carbonfuture

CDR Policy Report

Article about California’s SB 308

OpenAir Collective

LECCLA

Federal CDR Leadership Act

Our Interview with Planetary

4 Corners Carbon Coalition

Sebastian’s Posts on the DAC Summit and the CDR Summit

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

Jun 20, 202335:29
Could This Law Supercharge U.S. CDR?

Could This Law Supercharge U.S. CDR?

Since last year’s landmark climate legislation, members of congress are looking for niche areas of climate progress. Enter the Carbon Removal and Emissions Storage Technologies (CREST) Act, a bipartisan piece of legislation aimed at accelerating carbon removal and storage solutions. 

It was introduced by U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Maria Cantwell and also has a bipartisan version in the House, the CREST Act tasks the Departments of Energy with initiating research programs and exploring the feasibility of a number of carbon removal pathways.

The legislation focuses on several carbon removal techniques, such as biomass-based removal, ocean CDR, and DAC and geologic storage. A wide swath of organizations, including many familiar to the CDR industry like Clearpath, Stripe, and Vesta, have signed a letter of support

In this episode, we going to delve into the details of the CREST Act, its potential impact on our climate, and the implications of its bipartisan support. Will it help scale up a domestic CDR industry? How will the Act's pilot reverse auction purchasing program facilitate the commercialization of carbon removal?

We’ll also take a look at the recent developments at the UNFCCC and their work on revising Article 6.4. The tone of their first draft has attracted a lot of attention and controversy for the way it characterized CDR. 

Joining our policy panel are two experts in the field of carbon removal: Savita Bowman,  Program Manager at ClearPath, who works on organization's carbon dioxide removal initiatives, and Holly Buck, Assistant Professor of Environment and Sustainability at the University at Buffalo and author of “Ending Fossil Fuels: Why Net-Zero is Not Enough”.

On This Episode

Holly Jean Buck

Savita Bowman

Asa Kamer

Resources

CREST Act

CREST Support Letter

Article 6.4 draft Note

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Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

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Jun 13, 202327:19
What's Happening at the UNFCCC? w/ Wil Burns

What's Happening at the UNFCCC? w/ Wil Burns

An important climate body at the U.N. is causing controversy as they seek to define use of CDR, and many supporters of carbon removal are not happy. 

The UNFCCC is in the process of figuring out how carbon removal fits into emissions reduction plans. A recent draft statement caused a stir among advocates of CDR and climate experts, as it described CDR as 'unproven' and ‘not contributing to sustainable development’.

Many CDR advocates have contested these claims, especially given the crucial role attributed to CDR in last year's report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

In response, the Carbon Business Council is drafted a letter, with support from over 100 CDR experts, in an attempt to persuade the UNFCCC to provide a clearer definition of CDR.

In today's discussion, we'll speak with Wil Burns, Co-Executive Director of the Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy at American University. We'll explore the purpose of this new definition, what's been proposed so far, and why it's so important."

This episode’s second segment is an interview with - Todd Myers, the Director of the Center for the Environment at the Washington Policy Center. His 2022 book, “Time to Think Small: How nimble environmental technologies can solve the planet’s biggest problems,” sheds light on how compact, innovative technologies are giving individuals the power to safeguard endangered wildlife, cut back on CO2 emissions, and combat the issue of ocean plastic.

Radhika talks with Todd about a landmark decision in Washington State that recently made headlines as it became the first in the U.S. to pass its capital budget with funding specifically allocated for carbon dioxide removal. Todd also discusses his work on environmental policy and its applications to carbon removal. 

On This Episode

Radhika Moolgavkar

Wil Burns

Todd Myers

Resources

Axios on UNFCCC process

Draft of UNFCCC revision

Carbon Business Council Letter

Washington Policy Center

“Time to Think Small”

Washington State Funding

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Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

Jun 06, 202354:21
Robert Höglund's Cautious Optimism on Carbon Removal

Robert Höglund's Cautious Optimism on Carbon Removal

Robert Höglund refers to himself as a "chronicler of CDR" or Carbon Dioxide Removal. He has established himself as an authority in this area, providing enlightening insights through his popular blog, Marginal Carbon. His significant contributions to Milywire, a CDR fund, coupled with his extensive involvement in various roles as a Climate Advisor, have further solidified his status as a thought leader.

Recently, Robert attended Carbon Unbound, the world's first conference solely focused on carbon removal businesses. His reflections from this groundbreaking event, which he shared under the intriguing title "Cautiously Optimistic Removers," shed light on the current state and future direction of the CDR sector.

Radhika and Robert delve into his eight key insights from the event, uncovering the crucial issues facing the CDR sector - from the challenges of scale and certification standards to the essential role of public engagement. 

This episode is an inside look at the pressing issues of carbon removal and their significance in our increasingly carbon-conscious world. Why, despite the hurdles, is Robert’s mood was one of cautious optimism? Tune in to find out.

On This Episode

Radhika Moolgavkar

Robert Höglund

Resources

Carbon Unbound

Robert’s Blog Post about the conference

Klarna Announcement

JP Morgan Announcement

Microsoft BECCS purchase

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Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

May 30, 202336:59
Differentiating Emissions Cuts and CDR

Differentiating Emissions Cuts and CDR

Following 2015’s UN Paris Agreement, each signatory country submitted a strategy indicating how they intend to decarbonize their economy. While much of the work comes from cutting emissions, plans can also include a ‘residual emissions’ category- that’s where carbon removal comes in. 

But recent research from our panelist Holly Buck and her colleagues found no standard definition of residual emissions.

Residual emissions are significant; most come from agriculture, industry, and mobility. Crucially, land-use sinks won’t offset all residual emissions by 2050- meaning many countries hope new CDR technologies are reliable. 

For the world to meet climate goals, countries must achieve the ambitions set out in their plans. If those plans are not well-defined, it is unlikely they will achieve success. 

Also on this episode, the panel discusses Climeworks’ call to differentiate CDR from emissions cuts, as well as Stanford’s new CDR program and some controversy surrounding it.   

One of the authors, Holly Buck, joins us today to talk about this important research. And returning to our policy panel is another leading expert in the legalities of CDR- Wil Burns, the Co-Director at the Institute for Carbon Removal Law & Policy at American University. 

On This Episode

Holly Jean Buck

Wil Burns

Radhika Moolgavkar

Resources

Holly’s Research on Residual Emissions

Climate Action Tracker

SBTI

Climework’s Announcement

Stanford CDR Program

Chronicle of Higher Education Article on Stanford + Oil Companies

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Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

May 12, 202330:04
Inside Planetary's Public Outreach

Inside Planetary's Public Outreach

Last year Planetary Technologies won the Carbon Xprize Milestone award for their ocean-based CDR method. That same year they started testing their ocean alkalinity enhancement process in a small trial in England, partnering with the local water company. The test showed improved alkalinity and reduced CO2 in local waters. Now the company plans to do a longer, 120-day test this summer, hoping to remove 200 net tons of CO2 from the water.

Planetary has conducted public outreach about their plan, and published a public code of conduct laying out how they intend to make the experiments safe. 

But last month protesters gathered at Gwithian beach in North Cornwall, expressing concerns about the potential impact on the bay's marine ecosystem. 

In a Guardian article about the project Mike Kelland CEO of Planetary Technologies said “People often say to me: ‘You wouldn’t want to swim in this stuff, would you?’ But the answer is that we already do because it’s already widely used in wastewater management.” 

He said that the company would be transparent and diligent in their evaluations and monitoring during the study. 

Joining us on this episode are two people who are working firsthand on the issues of public acceptability and community outreach that we’ve set out to explore CRN- Will Burt, Chief Ocean Scientist at Planetary and Pete Chargin, Planetary’s VP of Commercialization and Community Relations. 

On This Episode

Will Burt

Pete Chargin

Radhika Moolgavkar

Resources

Planetary Technologies

Milestone award

Planetary’s public code of conduct

Guardian article on Planetary’s proposal

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

 

May 05, 202332:21
The Business of Enhanced Rock Weathering

The Business of Enhanced Rock Weathering

In December 2022, the carbon credit platform Puro added a methodology for enhanced rock weathering (ERW) credits. This announcement opens the door for the ERW to be sold into the billion-dollar voluntary carbon marks. 

ERW is one of the oldest known forms of carbon removal, long studied by geologists. But it is only recently that a growing number of startups are applying the science of this technique on a larger scale. 

Other businesses are taking note. Microsoft is expanding its carbon removal portfolio to include ERW credits purchased from UNDO. They will pay the Scottish company to spread basaltic rock onto farmland, hoping to sequester 5000 tons of CO2 over the next few decades. 

ERW can potentially deliver massive amounts of CDR if scaled up. Nearly every country has the necessary basaltic rock to spread on its farmland and it doesn’t require any new technological innovations. But an industry large enough to affect global temperatures will need to build lots of new infrastructure, supply chains, and rock crushers.

That’s going to take significant investment, along with MRV, that can grow with the industry.

Is all that possible? Today we’ll discuss this exciting technique's business dimensions with our business panel. Welcome, Susan Su and Na’im Merchant.

On This Episode

Na’im Merchant

Susan Su

Radhika Moolgavkar

Resources

New Puro Methodology

UNDO/Microsoft Announcement

Energy Monitor Article on ERW Business

South Pole Investigation

Climeworks Expansion Announcement

Ebb Carbon Funding

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

Apr 28, 202341:20
State-Level CDR Policy Advocacy with Toby Bryce

State-Level CDR Policy Advocacy with Toby Bryce

About one year ago we were joined on this show by Toby Bryce, who works with the volunteer-advocacy group the OpenAir Collective on a variety of projects that support the growth of carbon removal. Toby told us about the groups work advocating for state-level legislation called the Carbon Dioxide Removal Leadership Act in New York State. 

Since then, the legislation has been proposed in several more states, and the group’s network of policy advocates has grown along with it. 

Today we’ll talk to Toby about what’s going on with CDRLA, and what kind of political dynamics he’s found as OpenAir wades into state-level policymaking. 

Radhika and Toby will also delve into some of the bigger questions about the public acceptability challenges of growing carbon removal. What should advocates and CDR companies be doing to communicate with the public, and what are the stakes?

On This Episode

Toby Bryce

Radhika Moolgavkar

Resources

OpenAir Collective

Carbon Dioxide Removal Leadership Act

MA Legislation

CO Cleantech Legislation

Co Biochar to Oil Wells Legislation

CA Legislation

Xprize Report

DFP Wyoming polling

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

 

Apr 07, 202338:15
SVB + CDR

SVB + CDR

The ramifications of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse two weeks ago are still rippling across the global economy. SVB was a major lender to VCs, and served silicon valley: two factors that meant its rapid demise will affect the climate tech industry. 

SVB worked with 1550 climate tech companies, and gave the industry billions in loans. 

Other banks may fill the void to support this lucrative sector, but many carbon removal companies are now spending time figuring out their financial stability, rather than developing their CDR products. 

Peter Reinhardt, Founder and CEO of Charm Industrial, told Semafor that “…the SVB collapse will cause a one to two-quarter delay on a lot of things in climate tech. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you look at how much needs to get deployed in the next decade, losing half a year is really not good.”

The business panel also discusses some other recent CDR business news: 

  • South Korea’s announced carbon exchange
  • a new alliance of carbon removal companies
  • Na’im’s work as the ED of the brand-new org Carbon Removal Canada

On This Episode

Na’im Merchant

Susan Su

Radhika Moolgavkar


Resources

NYT Article on SVB’s climate lending

Semafor Article w/ Reinhardt quote

Jeff Snider’s podcast

Na’im on diverse sources of funding

Dai Ellis blog post

South Korea’s new carbon exchange

Carbon Removal Alliance

Giana Amador

Carbon Business Council

Carbon Removal Canada

Carbon Removal Canada jobs- work with Na’im!


Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account


Mar 24, 202339:19
Innovations in Remote Sensing for Blue Carbon

Innovations in Remote Sensing for Blue Carbon

Blue carbon has emerged as a popular climate solution, with offset marketplaces like Verra and Gold Standard eyeing blue carbon methodologies and Salesforce and the World Economic Forum teaming up to announce their own blue carbon credit framework at COP27 last year.

Crediting for blue carbon usually means protecting ecosystems like mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and salt marshes. It can also include restoring these ecosystems when they’ve been degraded or destroyed.

A recent paper published in the journal “Earth Science Reviews” titled “Remote Sensing for Effective Blue Carbon Accounting” reviewed the potential for new technology to improve the remote sensing of blue carbon ecosystems.

Carbon markets continue to grow, and billions of dollars will likely flow toward blue carbon projects. So how well can scientists even tell when ecosystems are sequestering CO2? And what is the promise of new technologies to improve those estimates?

Joining Radhika on this episode are Holly Jean Buck and Shannon Valley.

On This Episode

Holly Jean Buck

Shannon Valley

Radhika Moolgavkar

Resources

Verra Blue Carbon Project

Article about Gold Standard Blue Carbon Project

Salesforce Blue Carbon initiative

Paper: Remote Sensing for Effective Blue Carbon Accounting

Bloomberg NEF Report on Potential Growth of Carbon Markets

Vox Article about Palm Oil Industry

WSJ Article about Indonesia Deforestation

Inside Climate News Article on Satellite Monitoring of Flood Zones

Report on 50 Years of Endangered Species Act

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Join Nori’s Discord to hang out with other fans of the podcast and Nori

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

Mar 03, 202326:16
EU Carbon Price Hits All-Time High & New CO2 Legislation in Alaska

EU Carbon Price Hits All-Time High & New CO2 Legislation in Alaska

The Emission Trading Systems is the cap-and-trade carbon market that Europe has been using since 2005 to decarbonize its economy. Companies have to pay to pollute, and this week that price hit an all-time high as it traded for over 100 euros/ton. In the first segment of today’s show Na’im Merchant and Asa Kamer discuss the significance of that milestone, what it might mean for the CDR industry, and news that Lanzatech became the first carbon capture company ever to go public.

On the other side of the planet a different government made steps towards capitalizing on the money flowing towards carbon markets. Earlier this month, Alaska’s GOP Governor proposed a package of bills that would expand the state’s ability to store carbon via both forestry projects and underground storage of CO2 if passed. Will these ambitions contribute to actually increasing carbon sequestration?

On the second segment of today’s show we explored this topic with one of the people behind Alaska’s push toward carbon management: the state Department of Natural Resource’s Deputy Commissioner John Crowther.

Radhika is out this week, this episode is hosted by CRN producer Asa Kamer.


On This Episode

Na’im Merchant

Asa Kamer

John Crowther


Resources

ETS Price Hits All-Time High

CCUS Investment Hits All-Time High

Lanzatech SPAC

Alaska Governor’s Proposed Legislation

Legislation FAQ


Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

Feb 24, 202346:03
CDR Axed from Climate Plans

CDR Axed from Climate Plans

Should carbon removal be included in institutional climate plans? It’s a debate that’s taken place across business, government, and science in recent years.

The rise of the net-zero framework has sharpened the focus on how and when organizations should decarbonize. And how carbon removal fits in.

Last week two influential organizations weighed in on how they plan to use carbon removal in the coming years.

The Net-Zero Owner Alliance, a UN-convened group of 84 large investors, declared that their members will not be able to invest in carbon removal to reach their climate goals until at least 2030.

And the European Commission released its draft Green Deal Industrial Plan, a new set of policy objectives to build out their climate infrastructure. It includes support for many decarbonization technologies, but at least one CDR NGO says it doesn’t do enough for carbon removal.

We’re pleased to announce the return of long-time friend of the show Holly Jean Buck. Welcome back, Holly!

On a less happy note, it is the last episode for Chris Barnard as a regular panelist. Chris, you will be missed.


On This Episode

Holly Jean Buck

Chris Barnard

Radhika Moolgavkar


Resources

Net-Zero Owner Alliance

Glasgow Alliance for Net-Zero

NZOA coverage from Reuters

European Commission’s Green Deal Industrial Plan

EC’s Q&A about new plan

Carbon Gap

Carbon Gap post about Green Deal

Reuters article about US/EU trade dynamics

Clean Energy is Cheaper Than Coal Across Whole US, Study Finds


Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

Feb 10, 202325:55
The State of CDR report

The State of CDR report

In January, a team of researchers led by the University of Oxford’s Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment released a report titled “The State of Carbon Dioxide Removal.”

The authors called it the first global assessment of the field and what gaps need to be closed to scale carbon removal.

The 101-page report covered how much CDR currently exists, the research landscape, existing policy support, and the gap between current plans and what will be needed to reach climate goals.

It contained some good news: CDR is scaling fast, and managed forests are doing a lot of drawdown already- and some bad: we’re not on track to have enough.

Today we’ll review this comprehensive snapshot with our science panel: Dr. Jane Zelikova and CRN producer Asa Kamer.


On This Episode

Dr. Jane Zelikova

Asa Kamer

Radhika Moolgavkar

Resources

State of CDR Report

CarbonBrief article about the report- w/ charts

Guardian article on Verra

Bloomberg article on potential of voluntary carbon markets

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

Feb 03, 202337:55
Where Are the Buyers?

Where Are the Buyers?

Where are the buyers? That’s the question CDR-observer and climate advisor Robert Höglund asked in a much-discussed recent post.

Höglund points out that while significant growth occurred for CDR through voluntary markets in 2022, the number of large buyers is low and growing slowly.

He called the market “upside down”: lots of marketplaces, fewer companies doing removal, even fewer buyers.

Today we’ll look at his post and use it as a jumping-off point to discuss some recent headlines in the business of carbon removal. Including-

·  CDR startups announcing new funding from oil and gas companies

·  The Guardian’s recent reporting claiming the climate benefit of Verra’s carbon offsets is overstated

·  Patch’s new offtake agreement format

·  Climeworks’ third-party verification of their DAC process

·  Should CO2 credits also include co-benefits?


On This Episode

Susan Su

Na’im Merchant

Radhika Moolgavkar

Resources

Höglund blog post

Captura & 44.01 new fundraising

Guardian’s reporting on Verra

Verra’s response to the article

Patch Offtake

Climeworks announcement

EPA EJ agreement

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

Jan 20, 202342:03
DAC Hubs w/ Jason Hochman of the DAC Coalition

DAC Hubs w/ Jason Hochman of the DAC Coalition

In 2021 the U.S. congress passed the bipartisan Infrastructure bill, which alongside funding for roads and bridges, included $3.5 billion for 4 DAC demonstration hubs. Each will be a large-scale DAC facility, and they may be the first engineered CDR built at scale in the U.S.

Since the bill was passed, DAC-watchers and interested entrepreneurs have been waiting for more information on what the funding would be spent on and who would be eligible to receive it.

In the meantime, the DOE under the Biden administration has been filling out its DAC expertise with industry experts such as Jen Wilcox, Noah Deich, and Rory Jacobson, among others joining the department. This has led to anticipation and expectations that the DOE’s planning for the DAC hubs projects would be sophisticated and well thought-out.

DOE gave the most in-depth look yet at the DAC hubs program last month with the release of a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA).

On this show we speak with Jason Hochman, Co-founder and Senior Director of the DAC Coalition, a group” bringing together diverse, leading global innovators…to educate, engage, and mobilize around Direct Air Capture”. Chris Barnard is also on this episode's policy panel.

On This Episode

Chris Barnard

Jason Hochman

Radhika Moolgavkar

Resources

DAC Coalition

2021 US Infrastructure Bill

DAC Hubs announcement

DAC Hub FOA

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

Jan 13, 202339:17
Advancing ERW Measurement

Advancing ERW Measurement

Last month, the non-profit Carbon Drawdown Initiative published a blog post featuring pictures of 11 projects across the world where researchers were spreading basaltic rock dust onto farm fields. This technique is known as enhanced weathering, and the post shows an upward trend in popularity.

According to the post, the projects photographed cumulatively spread 50,000 tons of rock dust onto farm fields last year, with another 500,000 planned for this year.

These pilot programs are conducted by a growing number of organizations that believe vast amounts of co2 can be sequestered from the atmosphere by applying basaltic rock dust to working croplands while also improving agricultural yields.

If that’s true, it will represent an affordable carbon removal method with significant co-benefits.

But how can scientists tell that co2 drawdown occurs after the rock dust is applied to the fields? What techniques and experiments will confirm that this process is ready to be scaled up?

On this episode the science panel looks at two recent pieces of ERW news that shed light on the state of ERW measurement-

In December, a group of researchers from the UK published the results of their 14-month study in which basaltic rock dust was spread over soil cores for 14 months. The study found limited CO2 removal compared to their models.

At the end of last year, Puro.earth, one of the largest vendors of carbon removal credits, added a framework to certify ERW credits to be sold on their platform. Previously ERW-based credits have never been available on a large scale in the carbon markets. Even Puro acknowledges "general scientific consensus on best practice … does not yet exist", but they've taken the first stab at connecting ERW with carbon funding streams.

Joining Radhika to discuss the scientific challenges of measuring the CDR potential of enhanced weathering is our regular science panel Dr. Shannon Valley and Dr. Jane Zelikova.


On This Episode

Jane Zelikova

Shannon Valley

Radhika Moolgavkar

Resources

Carbon Drawdown Initiative blog post

ERW soil core study

Puro.earth

Puro ERW Framework

Global Mangrove Loss Halted

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

Jan 06, 202334:34
December's CDR Headlines w/ Ben Rubin
Dec 16, 202239:23
Carbon Removal Knowledge Gaps

Carbon Removal Knowledge Gaps

Back in April of this year, Stripe, Alphabet, Shopify, Meta, and McKinsey announced a joint project to invest $925 million into carbon removal by 2030.

Using an Advanced Market Commitment structure, the group aims to provide a source of stable demand and revenue to potential CDR companies to help the industry grow.

In November, Frontier offered a new resource to the CDR industry- a database of “Carbon Removal Knowledge Gaps.”

In a blog post announcing the release of the work, the authors said, “we’ve noticed a few areas that are underexplored relative to their potential. So, here we’re experimenting with a supply “push.” Our hypothesis is that we can more quickly shake the proverbial tree for the most promising ideas in CDR.”

To discuss the report this week and talk about what they see as big knowledge gaps for CDR are our regular science panel Shannon Valley and Jane Zelikova.


On This Episode

Jane Zelikova

Shannon Valley

Radhika Moolgavkar


Resources

Frontier blog post

Frontier database

Third Way Blog

Rocky Mountain Institute

Sunflower Seeds Ukraine


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Nori

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Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

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Dec 02, 202233:51
What We're Thankful for in CDR

What We're Thankful for in CDR

The U.S. elections provided a boost to a President who has overseen climate action, world leaders are gathering in Egypt for COP27 to discuss our climate future, and what could be the next Enron has crashed crypto.

What does it all mean for the business of carbon removal?? Join us this week to learn more-

Susan thinks this election was a big win for climate voters, and provides some data about the unexpected impact that bloc has begun to have.

Na’im reflects on the lesson’s of the FTX collapse and what carbon removal and climate tech communities should learn from it.

The panelists also talk about the people, organizations, and trends they’re thankful for this year in the world of CDR.

Our regular business panel Susan Su and Na’im Merchant join host Radhika Moolgavkar.


On This Episode

Susan Su

Na’im Merchant

Radhika Moolgavkar


Resources

Environmental Voter Project

EVP Seminar on Georgia runoff

This Election’s ‘Green Wave’

NY Voters pass Environmental Bond in the midterms

Dai Ellis’ The Great Unwind

Carbon180

NOAA Ocean CDR


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Nov 18, 202243:02
CDR in the Next Congress

CDR in the Next Congress

We planned an episode this week about carbon removal policy in the next Congress. At the time of recording we still don’t know which party will control either chamber. Since it looks most likely that the GOP will win at least the House of Representatives, we focused this episode on the prospect for bipartisan CDR policy opportunities.

While Joe Biden and the Democrats retain control of the White House, they likely can’t pass legislation without Republican votes like they’ve been able to do for the last two years. All legislation, including the annual budget, must be agreed upon by both parties.

The U.S. invested a lot in CDR during the last congress…

-Some of that the Democrats passed alone, like increases to the 45Q tax credit included in the Inflation Reduction Act,

-but some were done on a bipartisan basis, like the direct investments in CDR found in the Infrastructure bill and CHIPS Act.

What can we expect from Federal Government in the next two years? Will divided government bring more or less support for CDR?

We have two special guest panelists here to discuss this with us today, Savita Bowman, a Program Manager at Clearpath, and Karly Matthews, the Communications Director at the American Conservation Coalition.

Chris Barnard is away at COP27 this week and Radhika Moolgavkar is away. This episode was guest hosted by CRN producer Asa Kamer.

On This Episode

Savita Bowman

Karly Matthews

Resources

Clearpath

American Conservation Coalition

Increases to the 45Q tax credit

CDR in the Infrastructure bill and CHIPS Act

CREST ACT

Bipartisan Biochar Bill

Growing Climate Solutions Act stalls

US Climate Targets Achievable if Congress Flips

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Nov 11, 202238:25
Foresting Dryland Regions

Foresting Dryland Regions

Nov 04, 202238:26
New CDR Funding Streams Emerge

New CDR Funding Streams Emerge

Just a few years ago, DAC technology existed exclusively on a lab bench. This year the industry raised over $1 billion in VC funding, with over 50 funded startups in existence.

While there are still technological hurdles to overcome to bring CDR to scale, funding also needs to be diversified and innovated, something we’ve discussed before on this show.

Tech money continues to pour into CDR. Just this week, two large new funding mechanisms for CDR companies have been announced.

Terraset is a new philanthropy that aims to fill CDR’s ‘funding gap.’ They aim to pool $1 billion by 2030 to fund startups directly. Early announced funders are Tim Ferriss and Segment co-founder Calvin French-Owen.

Propellor is a new VC fund that announced its first seed round of $100 million to invest in ocean-based climate tech.

We’ll discuss both announcements with our regular business panel, Susan Su and Na’im Merchant.


On This Episode

Susan Su

Na’im Merchant

Radhika Moolgavkar

Resources

$1 Billion in DAC VC Funding in 2022

Terraset

Propellor

Brian Halligan

Wood’s Hole Oceanographic Institute

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Oct 28, 202236:10
The Carbon Business Council

The Carbon Business Council

In July, over 40 carbon removal startups announced the launch of a new industry group: The Carbon Business Council. Since then, the list of members has grown past 70 companies.

The group’s goal is to serve as a “resource for our members, lawmakers, the energy industry, and the environmental community to advocate for the responsible growth of the carbon management industry.”

They recently published an Ethical Oath to Restore the Earth, which many members have signed.

This pledge states that signed member companies will adhere to a set of ethical guidelines, such as a commitment to ensuring that the industry grows to benefit communities and that companies will support emissions reduction efforts. CO2BC Executive Director Ben Rubin likened it to a Hippocratic Oath for CDR.

Ben joins this episode alongside regular policy panelist Chris Barnard.


On This Episode

Chris Barnard

Ben Rubin

Radhika Moolgavkar

Resources

Carbon Business Council

CBC’s Ethical Oath to Restore the Earth

CBC’s White Paper

DAC Hubs

DAC Hub Regional Manager job opening

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Oct 14, 202236:03
Can 'Rewilding' Draw Down CO2?

Can 'Rewilding' Draw Down CO2?

Can restoring animal populations in the ocean sequester CO2? This question has generated a lot of conversation and was explored in depth in the 2022 in the National Academy of Sciences report on Ocean Carbon Dioxide Removal.

Chapter 6 of that report covered ecosystem restoration and how much CO2 it can potentially sequester. The report found the fully restoring ocean ecosystems would draw down CO2 equivalent to 5% of annual human emissions.

In 2019 Alex Trembath and Seaver Wang at the Breakthrough Institute wrote an article about the concept of “Negative Emission Whales” in response to a that large whale populations would drawdown significant amounts of CO2.

Trembath and Wang balked at this report and cited other, less ambitious figures assessed by other research. They also focus on the limited ability of existing methods to quantify the CDR ability of this approach.

Today we’re joined for the first time as a regular co-host by Shannon Valley. We’re happy to welcome her as a monthly science guest! Shannon has been a researcher of paleoceanography and marine biogeochemistry, has served on Joe Biden’s NASA transition team and is currently a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at USAID (US Agency for International Development).

This week Radhika, Jane, Shannon discuss a wide range of topics related to ocean habitat restoration. Can it pull down CO2? Can we measure the sequestration? And should we still do it ASAP even if those measurements aren’t yet possible?


On This Episode

Jane Zelikova

Shannon Valley

Radhika Moolgavkar


Resources

NASEM Report

30 x 30

Breakthrough article on “Negative Emissions Whales”


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Oct 07, 202233:40