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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

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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

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The world’s annual climate summit, COP28, has wrapped up in Dubai. As usual, the massive gathering will end without an all-encompassing deal to fix the climate, but with many new side deals, pledges, and announcements that are very relevant to our climate future. 

Boosters and critics alike will all find lots of fodder from the past few weeks, and for better or worse carbon removal played a role in the deliberations. 

On this episode, our policy panel reflects on the role CDR played at COP, and catch up on some other major industry news as we wrap up 2023 including-

-The COP deal to “transition from fossil fuels”

-Why the Article 6.4 rules on offsets were postponed

-Which countries committed to going “carbon-negative” at COP28

-Record climate capital deployed all over the world 

-“Carbon Removals at COP” coalition

-Frontier’s record CDR purchase from Lithos

-The Road to Removals report

-& the panels highlights of 2023 and what they hope to see in CDR in 2024

On This Episode

Holly Jean Buck

Wil Burns

Radhika Moolgavkar

Resources

‘Unabated’ fossil fuel debate

Holly’s book “Ending Fossil Fuels”

COP’s fossil fuel pledge

Record capital deployed

Carbon Removals at COP

Frontier’s purchase from Lithos

Road to Removal report

RMI’s new CDR innovation report

AGU Conference

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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