Local governments are surprisingly powerful levers for carbon removal.

While large national governments can be slow and unwieldy, cities and counties can sometimes be much more nimble. They can get carbon removal projects off the ground quickly and share what they learn with other local governments.

So, which municipalities are taking the lead in the CDR space? And how do they integrate carbon removal in the local government landscape?

Susie Strife is the Boulder County Director of Sustainability, Climate Action and Resilience; Ramón DC Alatorre is Climate and Energy Coordinator for the City of Flagstaff; and Chris Neidl is Cofounder of OpenAir Collective.

Together, they are collaborators in forming the Four Corners Carbon Removal Coalition, an alliance of local governments that are pooling resources to fund CDR projects in the Four Corners region of the Southwest US.

On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, Susie, Ramón, and Chris join Ross and Siobhan to explain why Flagstaff and Boulder are ahead of the curve when it comes to carbon removal.

They share the resistance they face when it comes to endorsing carbon offsets and explain how local governments can educate communities around carbon removal.

Listen in to understand why the Four Corners model focuses on funding carbon removal projects that can be replicated and learn how Susie, Ramón, and Chris support other jurisdictions in finding local applications of CDR.

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Resources

Four Corners Carbon Removal Coalition

OpenAir Collective

Boulder County Office of Sustainability, Climate Action and Resilience

Boulder County Climate on Twitter

Flagstaff Sustainability Office

Chris on Twitter

OpenAir CDR Series on YouTube

‘Local Governments Can Drive Carbon Dioxide Removal Innovation’

Flagstaff Climate Emergency Declaration

Carbon Offsets: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Eli Mitchell-Larson on Reversing Climate Change S2EP62

Carbon Direct

The Oxford Offsetting Principles

Boulder County Climate Innovation Fund

Stripe Climate

Sustainable Cities Network