Climate Workers Anonymous

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

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

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

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

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

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

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

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

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

Connect with Nori

Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

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

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

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Nori

Nori’s Twitter

Nori’s other podcast Reversing Climate Change

Nori’s CDR meme twitter account

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

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