Episodios
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Episode 36 is with Nikki Batchelor of XPRIZE and Ben Rubin of Carbon Business Council.
Carbon removal can be a force for good - not just in creating lasting climate benefits - but in delivering social, economic, and ecological benefits as well. Indeed, the future of carbon removal depends on that promise playing out. But it isnât a foregone conclusion that large scale carbon removal is uncompromisingly and unequivocally good for people and planet. As we build this new industry - an intentional approach to its responsible deployment is absolutely necessary. Today, Naâim speaks with Nikki Batchelor and Ben Rubin about the recently launched Carbon Dioxide Removal Responsible Deployment Training (CDR RDT).
In this episode, Naâim, Nikki, and Ben discuss:
* Achievements the Carbon Business Council has made since launch;
* The XPRIZE Carbon Removal Competition and the final stage of the competition;
* Findings from XPRIZEâs Carbon Removal Innovation Landscape and the 2024 Outlook report;
* The meaning and importance of deploying carbon removal responsibly;
* Carbon Business Councilâs Responsible Deployment Training program;
* Embedding environmental justice and community engagement approaches into XPRIZE competition criteria;
* The adaption of key principles of the training program to a broader global context;
* The implication of the framework for stakeholders beyond carbon removal tech developers; and
* Upcoming announcements and initiatives from XPRIZE and Carbon Business Council.
Relevant Links:
* Breaking Ground: Guidance for Carbon Removal Companies and Funders on Responsible Project Deployment
* CDR Innovation Landscape and 2024 Outlook
* From the Ground Up: Recommendations for Building an Environmentally Just Carbon Removal Industry
* CDR RDT, A Training Course & Suite of Foundational Resources for the Responsible Deployment of Carbon Removal
* CDR RDT: Carbon Dioxide Removal Responsible Deployment Trainings
* Responsible & Regional Deployment of Carbon Removal: A Pacific Northwest Symposium
* Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR): Issue Brief
* Sources of opposition to renewable energy projects in the United States
About Nikki:
Nikki Batchelor is the Executive Director for the $100M XPRIZE Carbon Removal, a competition supported by the Musk Foundation to drive innovation, market adoption, and responsible deployment of carbon removal solutions. In this capacity she oversees program operations, develops partnerships, and leads strategic initiatives on topics such as environmental justice and investor engagement, including the Circular Carbon Network that provides market insights for the growing carbon tech and carbon removal sectors. Nikki also supports XPRIZEâs work across the Energy & Climate Domain and previously managed operations and impact programs for the $20M NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE from 2015-2021. She also serves on the Carbon Business Council Board of Directors and Puro.Earth Advisory Board.
About XPRIZE:
XPRIZE is an established global leader in designing, launching, and executing large scale competitions to solve humanityâs greatest challenges. The XPRIZE unique model democratizes innovation by incentivizing crowd-sourced, scientifically viable solutions to create a more equitable and abundant future for all.
About Ben:
Ben Rubin is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Carbon Business Council. Ben serves on the Environmental Technologies Trade Advisory Committee at the U.S. Department of Commerce, a federal appointment position. He is a Research Fellow with the Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal.
Ben has been advancing climate action throughout his career, leading initiatives for companies, accelerators, governments and nonprofits. His work has galvanized billions of dollars in climate infrastructure funding, passed legislation, and reached hundreds of millions of people through media campaigns.
About Carbon Business Council:
Carbon Business Council (CO2BC), a member-driven and tech-neutral trade association of companies unified to restore the climate, is the preeminent industry voice for carbon management innovators. Together, the nonprofit coalition represents more than 100 companies and organizations across six continents with more than $16.5 billion dollars in combined assets.
This episode was created and published by Naâim Merchant. Episode production and content support provided by Tank Chen.
Naâim Merchant is the co-founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada, a policy initiative focused on scaling carbon removal in Canada. He is also a policy fellow with Elemental Excelerator. He previously ran carbon removal consulting practice Carbon Curve, and publishes The Carbon Curve newsletter and podcast. Every two weeks, Naâim will release a short interview with individuals advancing the policies, technologies, and collective action needed to scale up carbon removal around the world.
Tank Chen is a carbon removal advocate based in Taiwan whose focus is on communicating the importance of CDR to policy makers, corporate leaders, and the broader public through education, communications, and policy advocacy.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast app or subscribe via The Carbon Curve newsletter here. If youâd like to get in touch with Naâim, you can reach out via LinkedIn.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carboncurve.substack.com -
Episode 35 is with Anastasia Pavlovic, CEO of Eion and Elliot Chang, Co-founder and CSO of Eion.
Today Naâim speaks with Anastasia Pavlovic, CEO of Eion and Elliot Chang, CSO of Eion. Enhanced rock weathering (ERW) is an area of carbon removal that Iâve been really intrigued by. When I think about ERW, I think about high potential for scale, benefits to farmers, and potentially challenging MRV.
So 35 episodes into this podcast, Iâm finally doing an episode on ERW. Today Iâll be speaking with Eionâs co-founder, alongside a newly minted CEO, to educate me about what has evolved in the ERW space over the last few years and what the future has in store for this promising but still nascent carbon removal technology.
About Anastasia Pavlovic
Anastasia Pavlovic is the CEO of Eion, which she joined in December 2023 bringing deep expertise in global operations and software with a passion for driving global change through local impact. Before joining Eion, Pavlovic led operations, commercialization, and growth for the Agoro Carbon Alliance, which works with farmers to sequester carbon in soil. Prior to the Alliance, Pavlovic commercialized software solutions in the US and Canada for Yara's Digital Farming organization. She has worked for venture-backed software companies scaling agtech and security products around the world. From West Virginia, Pavlovic holds dual B.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Systems Engineering.
About Elliot Chang
Elliot Chang is Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer at Eion. With over ten years of research experience in ion interactions with abiotic and biotic surfaces found in both subsurface terrestrial and marine systems, Elliot focuses on the research and development of technology at Eion. Elliot provides a unique perspective on technology and innovation through his work in academia, national laboratories, and industry-based companies. Elliot has completed postdoctoral research positions at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where he studied the physio-chemical properties of swelling clays in soils, and at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he developed new computational modelling approaches for radionuclide and metal transport in soils and nuclear waste repositories. He received his Ph.D. at UC Berkeley in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, studying rare earth element interactions with bacteria in engineered bioreactor and natural soil systems. He received his Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering at Princeton University with a certificate in Sustainable Energy. Elliot is a member of the American Geophysical Union, American Chemical Society, and Sigma Xi Honor Society.
About Eion
Eion is a carbon removal company responsibly scaling enhanced rock weathering (ERW) on agricultural lands. It holds an industry-first patent for directly measuring the carbon removed by mineral weathering in soils using immobile trace elements. Combining scientific rigor with agricultural know-how, Eion fits into routine farming practices to unlock scale without compromising safety and rigor. That includes using olivine, a naturally abundant mineral that balances soil pH while efficiently absorbing carbon dioxide, and relying on routine soil samples and standard equipment to measure carbon removal and monitor soil conditions. By working with the agricultural system, Eion is on track to deliver 10 million tons of permanent carbon removal annually starting in 2030 while creating stable jobs in rural communities.
In this episode, Naâim, Anna, and Elliot discuss:
* Eionâs beginning and journey thus far;
* Annaâs new role as the CEO and her experience getting into CDR from a background in agtech;
* Eionâs approach to enhanced rock weathering
* Eionâs âdirect measurement approachâ to MRV;
* The different minerals used in ERW and the advantage of using olivine for Eion;
* The scalability and potential of ERW in reaching the scale required;
* The constraints in scaling ERW;
* Eionâs partnership with its feedstock partner, Sibelco;
* The significance of Eionâs recent delivery of carbon removal to Stripe;
* Policy supports needed going forward for ERW;
* Annaâs mandate and the companyâs key priorities for 2024;
Relevant Links:
* The basics of enhanced rock weathering
* How Eion Measures Enhanced Rock Weathering (Or How to Find Something Thatâs No Longer There)
* Eionâs Delivery of Carbon Removal to Stripe, Inc.
* The US Agriculture Improvement Act (Farm Bill)
* Eionâs website
This episode was created and published by Naâim Merchant. Episode production and content support provided by Tank Chen.
Naâim Merchant is the co-founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada, a policy initiative focused on scaling carbon removal in Canada. He is also a policy fellow with Elemental Excelerator. He previously ran carbon removal consulting practice Carbon Curve, and publishes The Carbon Curve newsletter and podcast. Every two weeks, Naâim will release a short interview with individuals advancing the policies, technologies, and collective action needed to scale up carbon removal around the world.
Tank Chen is a carbon removal advocate based in Taiwan whose focus is on communicating the importance of CDR to policy makers, corporate leaders, and the broader public through education, communications, and policy advocacy.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast app or subscribe via The Carbon Curve newsletter here. If youâd like to get in touch with Naâim, you can reach out via LinkedIn.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carboncurve.substack.com -
¿Faltan episodios?
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Episode 34 is with Phil De Luna, Chief Carbon Scientist and Head of Engineering at Deep Sky.
In this episode, Naâim speaks to Phil De Luna, Deep Skyâs Chief Carbon Scientists and Head of Engineering. Naâim and Phil cover a broad range of what Deep Sky - a carbon dioxide removal (CDR) project developer that raised C$75M last year - has done to date, how they think about new technology adoption, why Canada is well suited for large scale carbon removal, and the policies that would help advance their work. And we get a few hints of what's in store for the rest of 2024.
In this episode, Naâim and Phil discuss:
* Philâs journey into CDR and the reasons he joined Deep Sky;
* Deep Skyâs philosophy on removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere;
* Deep Skyâs criteria for choosing partners and how partnerships work;
* The reasons for the companyâs focusing on Quebec and Canada;
* The exciting innovations in carbon removal;
* Deep Skyâs partnership with Isometric and their approach to MRV;
* Opportunities and challenges to large scale deployment, and the importance of community engagement;
* Different kinds of policies and actions from the Canadian government that could help develop and scale carbon removal technologies; and
* Deep Skyâs plan for 2024.
Relevant Links:
* âWhy Canada Is Poised To Become A Carbon Removal Superpowerâ (Forbes)
* âThe Race Is On: 5 Steps To Rapidly Develop Carbon Removal Technologyâ (Forbes)
* âWhy 2023 Was A Breakout Year In Carbon Removalsâ (Forbes)
* Canadaâs Investment Tax Credit for Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (Govât of Canada)
* Deep Sky Website
* Isometric Website
* Carbon Removal Canada Website
* Ready to Removal: A Decisive Decade for Canadian Leadership in Carbon Dioxide Removal
About Phil
Phil De Luna is Chief Carbon Scientist and Head of Engineering at Deep Sky, a carbon removals venture building large scale infrastructure to remove CO2 from the atmosphere to reverse climate change. Prior to Deep Sky, Phil led Carbontech at McKinsey & Companyâs sustainability practice. He is a Governor General Gold Medal winning scientist, ranked in the top 0.1% in the world in his field, a mentor at Creative Destruction Lab, and chair of Carbon Management Canada. Phil was the youngest-ever Director at the National Research Council where he built and led a $57M R&D program developing disruptive technologies to decarbonize Canada. He was on the founding team of CERT Technologies, a carbontech startup and finalist in the $20M Carbon XPRIZE. He is a Member of the College of the Royal Society of Canada, an adjunct Professor of Materials Science & Engineering at the University of Toronto, a former Member of Parliament candidate, a Globe & Mail Top 50 Changemaker, and a Forbes Top 30 Under 30.
About Deep Sky
Deep Sky is the world's first carbon removal project developer deploying the best carbon capture technology from around the world under one roof. Tech agnostic, Deep Sky brings together the most promising direct air and ocean capture technologies from around the world. Powered by renewable energy, Deep Sky's facilities are strategically located in Quebec, a region with an abundance of hydroelectric power, immense wind power potential and a vast territory with the rich geological makeup required for carbon storage. Deep Sky will bring the largest supply of high quality carbon credits to the market and commercialize carbon removal and storage solutions like never before.
This episode was created and published by Naâim Merchant. Episode production and content support provided by Tank Chen.
Naâim Merchant is the co-founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada, a policy initiative focused on scaling carbon removal in Canada. He is also a policy fellow with Elemental Excelerator. He previously ran carbon removal consulting practice Carbon Curve, and publishes The Carbon Curve newsletter and podcast. Every two weeks, Naâim will release a short interview with individuals advancing the policies, technologies, and collective action needed to scale up carbon removal around the world.
Tank Chen is a carbon removal advocate based in Taiwan whose focus is on communicating the importance of CDR to policy makers, corporate leaders, and the broader public through education, communications, and policy advocacy.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast app or subscribe via The Carbon Curve newsletter here. If youâd like to get in touch with Naâim, you can reach out via LinkedIn.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carboncurve.substack.com -
Episode 33 is with Dr. Julio Friedmann, Chief Scientist at Carbon Direct, and with Tim Bushman, Director of Policy and Research at Carbon Removal Canada.
Today Naâim speaks with Dr. Julio Friedmann and Tim Bushman about Canada's potential to scale up carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Late last year, Carbon Removal Canada released a report on Canada's readiness to scale carbon removal and the policies needed to unlock its potential. Today, Naâim speaks to two leading experts on carbon removal's future in Canada: Tim Bushman, who co authored the report and who has surveyed the Canadian landscape to understand the carbon removal potential here; and Julio Friedman, Chief Scientist at Carbon Direct, a world renowned expert on carbon removal and related industries, who was kind enough to review the report and has been a huge inspiration to so many in the carbon removal field.
Tim and Julio will talk about the global CDR landscape, trends and developments to watch, Canada's advantages in scaling CDR, the policies currently in place, like an investment tax credit and a carbon management strategy, and the additional policies we will need to succeed in this new industry.
In this episode, Naâim, Julio, and Tim discuss:
* The current global CDR landscape, major developments and trends in the industry;
* The important use cases and benefits for scaling CDR;
* The scale of CDR needed for individual countries to achieve net-zero emissions, the steps required to get there, and the need to start building capacity now;
* The potential leading role that Canada can play in scaling the global CDR industry;
* Reasons governments should support the carbon removal industry and the ancillary benefits for doing so;
* The most important near-term policy actions to support the sector, including a government procurement program, innovation investments, and standard-setting; and
* Challenges and opportunities going forward.
Relevant Links:
* Ready to Removal: A Decisive Decade for Canadian Leadership in Carbon Dioxide Removal (Carbon Removal Canada, 2023)
* Criteria for High-Quality Carbon Dioxide Removal (2023)
* Capturing the opportunity: A Carbon Management Strategy for Canada (2023)
* British Columbiaâs Low Carbon Fuels Act
* Carbon Directâs website
* Carbon Removal Canadaâs website
About Dr. Julio Friedmann
Dr. Friedmann recently served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy at the Department of Energy where he was responsible for DOEâs R&D program in advanced fossil energy systems, carbon capture, and storage (CCS), CO2 utilization, and CO2 removal. More recently, he was a Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia. He has held positions at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, including Chief Energy Technologist. Dr. Friedmann is one of the most widely known and authoritative experts in the U.S. on carbon removal (CO2 drawdown from the air and oceans), CO2 conversion and use (carbon-to-value), hydrogen, industrial decarbonization, and carbon capture and sequestration.
About Carbon Direct
Carbon Direct helps organisations turn industry-leading carbon science into action through its end-to-end platform and advisory services. Their team consists of over 40 leading scientific advisors who have collectively published over 1,000 peer-reviewed papers on carbon measurement, management, and removal and engaged in meaningful climate action from restoration and conservation through to carbon project design and innovative tool development for project monitoring. This scientific foundation is enhanced by a broader team of over 20 carbon market advisors drawing upon finance, consulting, and software expertise. Carbon Directâs scientific and market base spans decarbonisation frameworks and strategies, emissions tracking, engineered, hybrid, and nature-based solutions, and cross-cutting issues such as governance and equity in carbon markets.
About Tim Bushman
Tim Bushman is the Director of Policy and Research at Carbon Removal Canada where he helps to inform policies and regulations to support the rapid and responsible scale-up of carbon removal in Canada. Weâre very lucky to have him on the team. Tim has a background in climate science and has worked extensively across the field of carbon management. His research has focused on mitigation strategies for the difficult-to-abate sectors and carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere. Prior to joining our team, he was a Senior Science Analyst at Carbon Direct and a Senior Analyst at Energy Futures Initiative.
This episode was created and published by Naâim Merchant. Episode production and content support provided by Tank Chen.
Naâim Merchant is the co-founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada, a policy initiative focused on scaling carbon removal in Canada. He is also a policy fellow with Elemental Excelerator. He previously ran carbon removal consulting practice Carbon Curve, and publishes The Carbon Curve newsletter and podcast. Every two weeks, Naâim will release a short interview with individuals advancing the policies, technologies, and collective action needed to scale up carbon removal around the world.
Tank Chen is a carbon removal advocate based in Taiwan whose focus is on communicating the importance of CDR to policy makers, corporate leaders, and the broader public through education, communications, and policy advocacy.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast app or subscribe via The Carbon Curve newsletter here. If youâd like to get in touch with Naâim, you can reach out via LinkedIn.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carboncurve.substack.com -
Episode 32 is with Naâim Merchant and Rahima Dosani.
Building off of the special episode they did a year ago, Naâim and Rahima are back to reflect on all things carbon removal in 2023 and whatâs in store for 2024. They also get into launching Carbon Removal Canada, the role Canada can play in scaling carbon removal (CDR), managing changing professional demands, and other personal questions that Naâim was clearly not prepared for!
We hope you enjoy the episode and wish everyone a happy 2024!
About Rahima Dosani
Rahima Dosani is the Director of Strategy, Learning, and Innovation at Global Health Visions, a woman-owned and operated company helping to improve access to global health products and services in low-income countries. She previously worked for the Center for Innovation and Impact at USAID and the Clinton Health Access Initiative in Myanmar and Malawi after doing strategy consulting in New York City. Rahima holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from the Harvard Business School, and a masters in public health from the Harvard School of Public Health. She spends her spare time teaching yoga and being a private chef, and recently graciously agreed to relocate to Toronto, Canada with Naâim.
Special note: A huge thanks to Tank Chen for his support with The Carbon Curve podcast over the last few months and Iâm excited about the next set of episodes weâre working on together. If youâre interested in collaborating with a brilliant and dedicated individual on your carbon removal company or project, do reach out to him on LinkedIn!
This episode was created and published by Naâim Merchant. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely Naâim Merchantâs and do not reflect those of any other individual or entity.
Naâim Merchant is the co-founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada, a policy initiative focused on scaling carbon removal in Canada. He is also a policy fellow with Elemental Excelerator. He previously ran carbon removal consulting practice Carbon Curve, and publishes The Carbon Curve newsletter and podcast. Every two weeks, Naâim will release a short interview with individuals advancing the policies, technologies, and collective action needed to scale up carbon removal around the world.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast app or subscribe via The Carbon Curve newsletter here. If youâd like to get in touch with Naâim, you can reach out via LinkedIn.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carboncurve.substack.com -
Episode 31 is with Paul Needham, CEO of Arca.
Today Naâim speaks with Paul Needham about the potential for accelerated carbon mineralization using mine waste as a carbon dioxide removal (CDR) method to decarbonize mining. Mining will play a huge role in the energy transition given the huge need of critical metals - and CDR can help ensure itâs done in a net-zero fashion.
Arca is working to stop - and reverse - climate change by capturing carbon dioxide from the air and transforming it into rock, where it is safely stored forever. Co-founded by Professor Greg Dipple and other geoscientists from the University of British Columbia, Arca has developed technologies that accelerate a natural geochemical process called carbon mineralization. Arca works with producers of critical metals, such as nickel, repurposing mine waste to deploy industrial-scale carbon dioxide removal solutions.
Arca just announced a partnership with BHP, one of the worldâs largest producers of nickel for the EV industry, to launch the worldâs first accelerated carbon mineralization project at an active nickel mine in Western Australia.
The companyâs technology has been recognized with a $1 million XPRIZE Milestone Award for Carbon Dioxide Removal.
About Paul Needham
Paul is a multi-time company founder and CEO, with three exits. Paul serves as board member to a venture fund that invests in African clean energy entrepreneurs, and is Senior Advisor to the D-REC Organization which is accelerating investment in clean energy in developing countries. Paul co-founded, built, and sold Indiaâs largest rooftop solar leasing company, providing access to clean energy to at least 250,000 people in rural India. Paul has a Masters Degree in Development Economics from the University of Cambridge and is now CEO of Arca, the carbon mineralization company.
In this episode, Naâim and Paul discuss:
* Paulâs journey into carbon removal and Arcaâs founding history, from its academic roots to becoming a CDR company;
* The clean energy paradox;
* The science behind Arcaâs approach;
* Arcaâs solution to help the mining industry decarbonize;
* The process of partnering with mining companies;
* Arcaâs role in mining industryâs objective to decarbonize;
* Arcaâs partnership with BHP;
* Arcaâs technologies in development around measurement and verification and their methodology;
* Ways in which government around the world could support CDR; and
* The companyâs current and future priorities.
Relevant Links:
* Arcaâs partnership with BHP to launch a new pilot project at BHPâs Mt Keith Nickel West mine in Australia
* Arcaâs People Page
* Arcaâs LinkedIn page
* Arcaâs Dr. Greg Dipple and Paul Needham on This Is CDR [Webinar]
* Arca winning the XPRIZE Milestone Award for Carbon Dioxide Removal
* BC Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy (CICE)
This episode was created and published by Naâim Merchant. Episode production and content support provided by Tank Chen.
Naâim Merchant is the co-founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada, a policy initiative focused on scaling carbon removal in Canada. He is also a policy fellow with Elemental Excelerator. He previously ran carbon removal consulting practice Carbon Curve, and publishes The Carbon Curve newsletter and podcast. Every two weeks, Naâim will release a short interview with individuals advancing the policies, technologies, and collective action needed to scale up carbon removal around the world.
Tank Chen is a carbon removal advocate based in Taiwan whose focus is on communicating the importance of CDR to policy makers, corporate leaders, and the broader public through education, communications, and policy advocacy.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast app or subscribe via The Carbon Curve newsletter here. If youâd like to get in touch with Naâim, you can reach out via LinkedIn.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carboncurve.substack.com -
Episode 30 is with Bilha Ndirangu, CEO of Great Carbon Valley.
Today Naâim speaks with Bilha Ndirangu. Bilha is the CEO of Great Carbon Valley. She is also the co-founder of Jacobâs Ladder Africa, a non-profit focused on green workforce preparation. In this and other roles, she is at the intersection of climate action, technology, and education, positioning Africa as an investment destination for the green economy, identifying and scaling relevant technologies, and preparing its youth to provide the requisite skills mix. She has had previous roles as CEO of the African Leadership Academy and CEO of Africaâs Talking (a communications technology company), where she expanded the company into 20 markets in African countries. She also worked at Dalberg, where she helped launch the Nairobi office. Bilha holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from MIT and is a Yale Emerging Climate Leaders Fellow.
Great Carbon Valley (GCV) is a systems integrator and project development company working to harness the abundant resources of the Great Rift Valley towards the global decarbonization efforts by developing large scale green industry and carbon removals projects. GCV aims to develop comprehensive DACS-anchored industrial parks that serve as complete solutions for energy-intensive businesses, enabling them to operate with enhanced efficiency and achieving net zero targets. GCV is seeking and working with a network of actors, including energy developers, Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology ventures, carbon storage providers, green industries, and project financiers, to develop the hubs. Earlier this year, GCV announced a partnership with Climeworks to explore development of large-scale direct air capture and storage projects in Kenya.
In this episode, Naâim and Bilha discuss:
* The mission and vision of Great Carbon Valley;
* Attributes that make Kenya and East Africa ideal for hosting carbon removal projects;
* The political wil behind carbon removal in Kenya and the potential political leaders see;
* The employment and innovation opportunities that could come out of Africa;
* Policies that will support industrial-scale carbon removal in East Africa;
* Challenges and opportunities in attracting companies to build up the ecosystem in Kenya; and
* The biggest disconnect in conversations around scaling carbon removal solutions between Europe, North America, and Africa.
Relevant Links:
* Envisioning African CDR Innovation with Bilha Ndirangu, Great Carbon Valley - Carbon Removal Africa Webinar
* Africaâs Great Carbon Valley - TED Talk by James Mwangi
* Climeworks and Great Carbon Valley chart path to large-scale direct air capture and storage deployment in Kenya
This episode was created and published by Naâim Merchant. Episode production and content support provided by Tank Chen.
Naâim Merchant is the co-founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada, a policy initiative focused on scaling carbon removal in Canada. He is also a policy fellow with Elemental Excelerator. He previously ran carbon removal consulting practice Carbon Curve, and publishes The Carbon Curve newsletter and podcast. Every two weeks, Naâim will release a short interview with individuals advancing the policies, technologies, and collective action needed to scale up carbon removal around the world.
Tank Chen is a carbon removal advocate based in Taiwan whose focus is on communicating the importance of CDR to policy makers, corporate leaders, and the broader public through education, communications, and policy advocacy.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast app or subscribe via The Carbon Curve newsletter here. If youâd like to get in touch with Naâim, you can reach out via LinkedIn.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carboncurve.substack.com -
Episode 29 is with Anna Stukas, Vice President of Business Development at Carbon Engineering Ltd.
Today Naâim speaks with Anna Stukas about how Carbon Engineering is helping the aviation industry to decarbonize, and what roles direct air capture (DAC) technologies play in the sectorâs overall strategy to reach net-zero.
Anna Stukas is a Vice President of Business Development at Carbon Engineering Ltd. Anna is a professional engineer with nearly two decades experience bridging the gap between technology and business to overcome barriers to cleantech commercialization. She currently leads a variety of CEâs partnering and business development efforts, with a focus on the aviation ecosys tem. Anna previously worked with Angstrom Power and BIC developing hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, where her responsibilities spanned IP and licensing strategy, product safety, and international regulatory development, including at the United Nations and International Civil Aviation Organization.
Anna currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, and of Science World. Annaâs work has been recognized by the Minerva Foundationâs Women Inâą Energy Award for Philanthropy and Business in Vancouverâs Forty Under 40 Award. Carbon Engineering (CE) is a climate solutions company. CE is focused on the global deployment of large-scale Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology that captures carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, enabling two complementary solutions to reach true net zero: permanent carbon dioxide removal and sustainable aviation fuel. With its partners, CE is working to deploy large-scale, commercial DAC facilities.
In this episode, Naâim and Anna discuss:
* The aviation industryâs emissions problem and its progress in decarbonization;
* Challenges with sustainable aviation fuel;
* Carbon removalâs role in counter-balancing residual emissions;
* The role of direct air capture in decarbonizing aviation;
* Carbon Engineeringâs recent agreement with airlines;
* The role of other carbon removal solutions play in addressing aviation emissions;
* The future of DAC in decarbonizing aviation;
* The need for government procurement of carbon removal;
* The critical pieces in ensuring sufficiency DAC capacity scale-up; and
* Impacts of the Oxy acquisition.
Relevant Links:
* Naâimâs report with Clean Air Task Force - âDecarbonizing Aviation: Challenges and Opportunities for Emerging Fuelsâ
* Mission Possible Partnership - âMaking Net-Zero Aviation Possibleâ
* IATAâs Net Zero Roadmaps
* ANA Group Environmental Targets
* Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA)
* Robert Höglund on the like-for-like removal principle for offsetting
* U.S. DOEâs $35 Million âCarbon Dioxide Removal Purchase Pilot Prizeâ
* Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)
* Oxyâs announcement to acquire Carbon Engineering (Press Release)
Special Note: Carbon Removal Canadaâs official (in person) launch event is in Ottawa on November 8th from 4-6pm. Register here while thereâs still space!
This episode was created and published by Naâim Merchant. Episode production and content support provided by Tank Chen.
Naâim Merchant is the co-founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada, a policy initiative focused on scaling carbon removal in Canada. He is also a policy fellow with Elemental Excelerator. He previously ran carbon removal consulting practice Carbon Curve, and publishes The Carbon Curve newsletter and podcast. Every two weeks, Naâim will release a short interview with individuals advancing the policies, technologies, and collective action needed to scale up carbon removal around the world.
Tank Chen is a carbon removal advocate based in Taiwan whose focus is on communicating the importance of CDR to policy makers, corporate leaders, and the broader public through education, communications, and policy advocacy.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast app or subscribe via The Carbon Curve newsletter here. If youâd like to get in touch with Naâim, you can reach out via LinkedIn.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carboncurve.substack.com -
Episode 28 is with Marty Odlin, Founder and CEO of Running Tide.
Today Naâim speaks with Marty Odlin about how Running Tide is navigating the waters of open ocean CDR.
Marty Odlin is the Founder and CEO of Running Tide, a global ocean health company. A systems engineer from a 4th generation fishing family, Marty founded the company in 2017 after seeing the devastating implications of climate change on his own community.
Running Tide designs and deploys cutting-edge diagnostics and comprehensive interventions that rebalance the carbon cycle, decarbonize global supply chains, restore marine ecosystems, and revitalize coastal communities. Proudly headquartered in Portland, Maine, Running Tide is scaling worldwide in partnership with leading investors, companies, scientific institutions, and governments.
Since the original recording, Running Tide has completed its first carbon removal deployment season in Iceland, which resulted in the delivery of the first ever ocean-based carbon removal credits to their first customer, Shopify. The company is also founding signatory and Marty was an author of the recently released Reykjavik Protocol, a set of supplier best practices designed to responsibly grow the nature-deployed credit industry, reduce uncertainties, and clarify conflicts of interest.
In this episode, Naâim and Marty discuss:
* Carbon removalâs âvictory conditionsâ and the critical need to engage the general public in order to reach gigaton scale carbon removal;
* The fast and slow carbon cycles;
* Running Tideâs work on ocean CDR;
* The advantages and challenges of open systems;
* The importance of following the best available science;
* The UN High Seas Treaty and implications on Running Tideâs work.
Relevant Links:
* Running Tide announcing their credit delivery (also see interview between Running Tide & Shopify regarding credit delivery)
* Blog post announcing RT signing onto the Reykjavik Protocol
* Running Tideâs Ocean CDR Research Roadmap
* Running Tideâs Framework Protocol for Open Ocean CDR
* Ocean Visions
* Ocean Frontier Institute at Dalhousie University
* UN High Seas Treaty
This episode was created and published by Naâim Merchant. Episode production and content support provided by Lucia Simonelli.
Naâim Merchant is the co-founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada, a policy initiative focused on scaling carbon removal in Canada. He is also a policy fellow with Elemental Excelerator. He previously ran carbon removal consulting practice Carbon Curve, and publishes The Carbon Curve newsletter and podcast. Every two weeks, Naâim will release a short interview with individuals advancing the policies, technologies, and collective action needed to scale up carbon removal around the world.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast app or subscribe via The Carbon Curve newsletter here. If youâd like to get in touch with Naâim, you can reach out via Twitter and LinkedIn.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carboncurve.substack.com -
Episode 27 is with Sebastian Manhart, Senior Policy Advisor at Carbonfuture and Board Chair of DVNE, a new German carbon removal association.
In the last year, carbon removal news has been dominated by policy wins in the United States. But we know that climate change is the ultimate collective action problem, and I've been keen to learn what other jurisdictions are doing to scale carbon removal globally. The EU is likely to be a big player in the carbon removal field.
My guest today, Sebastian Manhart, will tell us about a number of meaningful policy developments underway that will have serious implications for the carbon removal field across Europe and around the world.
In this episode, Naâim and Sebastian discuss:
* The political landscape in EU
* Major policy developments in the EU
* Heavy policy focus on direct air capture vs. newer carbon removal methods
* The EUâs approach to carbon removal policy compared to the approach in the United States
* Launching the DVNE, a new German carbon removal association
Reading list:
* Understanding Carbon Removal Policy Across Europe: An Exclusive Analysis
* EU COM 2040 targets
* EU Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF)
* EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) explainer
* Carbonfuture Blog on ETS
* DVNE
About Sebastian:
Sebastian Manhart is a climate advocate, leveraging his skills and experiences to support policy makers in making better decisions for our planet. He is the Senior Policy Advisor of Carbonfuture, the worldÂŽs leading platform for high-quality carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Sebastian is also the Chair of the Board of the DVNE, the German CDR Association, as well as a founding Director of the US Biochar Coalition, a trade association unifying the voice of the US biochar industry. Previously, Sebastian spent a decade as a tech entrepreneur, advised Angela MerkelÂŽs Chancellery, and worked with governments globally through the World Bank. Sebastian is an economist with a BA from UCL and an MPhil from Cambridge University.
About Carbonfuture:
Carbonfuture is the Trust Infrastructure for durable carbon removal with two products that seamlessly connect the entire carbon removal lifecycle: Carbonfuture MRV+, the most comprehensive MRV solution for durable CDR, and the Carbonfuture Marketplace, the leading marketplace for durable CDR. Carbonfuture empowers suppliers by providing the essential project support and finance needed to transform their carbon removal projects into fully certified carbon credits. For corporate buyers, Carbonfuture offers access to portfolios of carbon removal credits adhering to the established third-party standards.
Last call:
I'm looking for someone to support the production, editing, and promotion of this podcast. Iâm looking for someone who is passionate about carbon removal, who can help brainstorm guest ideas, develop thought provoking interview questions, schedule and join recordings, edit recordings, write up the show notes, and promote the episode on various channels.
It's an important job and an exciting opportunity to plug into the carbon removal field. This is a fully remote contract position starting October 1st amounting to about 8 to 10 hours of work per episode. You don't need to be an expert in podcasting. I certainly wasn't when I started. Just a lot of passion, diligence, organization, and a willingness to learn. If you're interested, send an email to [email protected] with your resume and a letter of interest by September 15th.
This podcast is created and published by Naâim Merchant.
Naâim Merchant is the co-founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada, a policy initiative focused on scaling carbon removal in Canada. He is also a policy fellow with Elemental Excelerator. He previously ran carbon removal consulting practice Carbon Curve, and publishes The Carbon Curve newsletter and podcast. Every two weeks, Naâim will release a short interview with individuals advancing the policies, technologies, and collective action needed to scale up carbon removal around the world.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast app or subscribe via The Carbon Curve newsletter here. If youâd like to get in touch with Naâim, you can reach out via Twitter and LinkedIn.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carboncurve.substack.com -
Episode 26 is with Rahul Shendure, CEO of CarbonBuilt.
There are many different storage pathways for carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere.
One storage medium that we don't talk about enough is storage of CO2 in long-lived products like concrete. Storing CO2 in concrete not only helps solve the CO2 storage problem - especially for smaller, modular carbon removal deployments - but helps decarbonize a very carbon intense product.
My guest today, Rahul Shendure, leads a company that is developing ultra low carbon concrete that is coming off the production line today and demonstrates the exciting potential for integrating carbon removal technologies alongside other decarbonization technologies in existing industrial processes.
Rahul Shendure is a serial entrepreneur and investor focused on sustainability and health. He is the CEO of CarbonBuilt, whose technology enables the production of ultra-low carbon concrete, reducing emissions by 70-100%. He previously served as Co-Founder and CEO at Bellwether Bio, whose acquisition by Guardant Health led to the launch of the first blood-based colorectal cancer screening test. Rahulâs earlier engineering and commercial roles span a wide range of climate-related industries ranging from plastics (GE), hydrogen fuel cells (Ballard Power Systems), renewable fuels and chemicals (Amyris) and next generation renewable electricity (Oscilla Power). Rahul earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from MIT and received his MBA from Harvard Business School.
CarbonBuilt, winner of the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE, enables concrete manufacturers to produce ultra-low carbon concrete products with 70-100% less embodied carbon. CarbonBuiltâs technology replaces most of the expensive, high-carbon Portland cement typically used during concrete manufacturing with a proprietary low-cost cement alternative made from widely-available low carbon materials. These materials harden after chemically reacting with CO2, to not only strengthen the blocks, but also permanently store the CO2 in solid form, diverting it from the atmosphere. Because it can be cost-effectively installed at existing concrete manufacturing plants and delivers products that meet ASTM C90 and other applicable industry standards without increasing costs, CarbonBuiltâs technology can be rapidly adopted by the nearly 800 concrete plants in the U.S. alone.
In this episode, Naâim and Rahul discuss:
* Concrete and its carbon footprint;
* CarbonBuiltâs technology for producing ultra-low carbon concrete;
* The distinction between emissions avoidance and removal both in CarbonBuiltâs technology as well as its credit system;
* CarbonBuiltâs commercial partnership with Blair Block;
* CarbonBuiltâs participation in the Four Corners Carbon Coalitionâs first project;
* Barriers to scaling low carbon concrete technology and the role of policy in addressing these barriers.
Relevant Links:
* CarbonBuilt
* CarbonBuilt and Blair Block commercial partnership
* Four Corners Carbon Coalition
* CarbonBuilt and Four Corners Coalition
* Paving the Way for Low-Carbon Concrete: Recommendations for a Federal Procurement Strategy
* Concrete: Square one for scaling distributed direct air capture?
Special note:
I'm looking for someone to support the production, editing, and promotion of this podcast. Iâm looking for someone who is passionate about carbon removal, who can help brainstorm guest ideas, develop thought provoking interview questions, schedule and join recordings, edit recordings, write up the show notes, and promote the episode on various channels.
It's an important job and an exciting opportunity to plug into the carbon removal field. This is a fully remote contract position starting October 1st amounting to about 8 to 10 hours of work per episode. You don't need to be an expert in podcasting. I certainly wasn't when I started. Just a lot of passion, diligence, organization, and a willingness to learn. If you're interested, send an email to [email protected] with your resume and a letter of interest by September 15th.
This podcast is created and published by Naâim Merchant. Episode production and content support provided by Lucia Simonelli.
Naâim Merchant is the co-founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada, a policy initiative focused on scaling carbon removal in Canada. He is also a policy fellow with Elemental Excelerator. He previously ran carbon removal consulting practice Carbon Curve, and publishes The Carbon Curve newsletter and podcast. Every two weeks, Naâim will release a short interview with individuals advancing the policies, technologies, and collective action needed to scale up carbon removal around the world.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast app or subscribe via The Carbon Curve newsletter here. If youâd like to get in touch with Naâim, you can reach out via Twitter and LinkedIn.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carboncurve.substack.com -
Episode 25 is with Jack Andreasen (Breakthrough Energy) and Dr. Claire Nelson (Cella).
Today Naâim digs deep into the safe and secure storage of CO2 with Jack Andreasen and Dr. Claire Nelson.
Jack Andreasen covers carbon management policy for Breakthrough Energy. In this role he works on policy across NGOs, federal and state governments, industry and start-ups in DAC, CCS and carbon storage. Previous to this role he was an energy policy analyst at The Climate Reality Project and worked for Duke Energy.
Dr. Claire Nelson is a geochemist with expertise on geologic carbon storage and in-situ mineralization in basalt. She is currently a postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia University as well as the co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Cella, a start-up developing a new technology for mineral carbon storage.
In this episode, Naâim, Jack, and Claire discuss:
* Various geologies and methods involved in geologic storage of CO2;
* The potential global capacity to store CO2 geologically as well as the challenges in scaling to meet this potential;
* The federal permitting process of Class VI wells in the United States as well as state primacy;
* Cellaâs novel storage technology; and
* What makes Kenya an ideal location for durable carbon removal.
Relevant Links:
* Carbon Miners Club
* Net Zero: Science, Origins, and Implications
* Cella
This podcast is created and published by Naâim Merchant. Episode production and content support provided by Lucia Simonelli.
Naâim Merchant is the co-founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada, a policy initiative focused on scaling carbon removal in Canada. He is also a policy fellow with Elemental Excelerator. He previously ran carbon removal consulting practice Carbon Curve, and publishes The Carbon Curve newsletter and podcast. Every two weeks, Naâim will release a short interview with individuals advancing the policies, technologies, and collective action needed to scale up carbon removal around the world.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast app or subscribe via The Carbon Curve newsletter here. If youâd like to get in touch with Naâim, you can reach out via Twitter and LinkedIn.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carboncurve.substack.com -
Episode 24 is with Professor Gregory Nemet, a Professor at the University of WisconsinâMadison in the La Follette School of Public Affairs and Convener of the State of CDR report.
Today Naâim speaks with Professor Gregory Nemet to learn more about the current state of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) globally, the varying magnitudes of carbon removal needed by midcentury as they correspond to different decarbonization scenarios, and the gap between the amount of carbon removal needed and the amount countries are planning to deploy.
Greg Nemet is a convener of the State of CDR report - the first comprehensive global assessment of the current state of CDR. It describes the gap between how much CDR countries are planning to deploy and what is needed in scenarios to meet Paris climate goals. It finds that the size of the âCDR gapâ differs across scenarios, depending on how the global economy is transformed to achieve net-zero emissions. It also finds that there are currently few plans by countries to scale CDR above current levels, exposing a substantial shortfall - which weâll get into today.
About Prof. Gregory Nemet
Gregory Nemet is a Professor at the University of WisconsinâMadison in the La Follette School of Public Affairs. He teaches courses in policy analysis, energy systems, and international environmental policy. Nemet's research focuses on understanding the process of technological change and the ways in which public policy can affect it. He received his doctorate in energy and resources from the University of California, Berkeley. His A.B. is in geography and economics from Dartmouth College. He received an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship in 2017 and used it to write a book on how solar PV provides lessons for the development of other low-carbon technologies: âHow Solar Energy Became Cheap: A Model for Low-Carbon Innovationâ (Routledge 2019). He was awarded the inaugural World Citizen Prize in Environmental Performance by APPAM in 2019. He is currently a Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changeâs 6th Assessment Report.
In this episode, Naâim and Greg discuss:
* Past emerging technologies such as ammonia and solar PV that can serve as useful analogues to carbon removal;
* The varying magnitudes of carbon removal needed by midcentury as they correspond to different decarbonization scenarios;
* The gap between the amount of carbon removal needed and the amount countries are planning to deploy;
* The urgency of investing in carbon removal in the next 10-15 years to ensure that we reach the needed scale by midcentury;
* Trends and gaps across academic literature on carbon removal;
* The importance of public perception and acceptance of carbon removal;
* What comes next after the State of CDR Report.
Relevant Links:
* How Solar Became Cheap: A Model for Low-Carbon Innovation
* State of CDR Report
* Follow Professor Greg Nemet on LinkedIn and Twitter
This podcast is created and published by Naâim Merchant. Episode production and content support provided by Lucia Simonelli.
Naâim Merchant is the co-founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada, a policy initiative focused on scaling carbon removal in Canada. He is also a policy fellow with Elemental Excelerator. He previously ran carbon removal consulting practice Carbon Curve, and publishes The Carbon Curve newsletter and podcast. Every two weeks, Naâim will release a short interview with individuals advancing the policies, technologies, and collective action needed to scale up carbon removal around the world.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast app or subscribe via The Carbon Curve newsletter here. If youâd like to get in touch with Naâim, you can reach out via Twitter and LinkedIn.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carboncurve.substack.com -
Episode 23 of The Carbon Curve is with Dr. Julio Friedman (Chief Scientist at Carbon Direct), James Mwangi (Co-Founder and CEO of Africa Climate Ventures), Ugbaad Kosar (Director of Environmental Justice at Carbon180), and Marcius Extavour (Chief Climate Solutions Officer at TIME CO2). This episode was recorded from the 2023 Direct Air Capture Summit hosted by Climeworks on June 6, 2023.
A couple of weeks ago, I attended the 2023 Direct Air Capture (DAC) Summit hosted by Climeworks and had the chance to moderate a discussion on setting up policy frameworks for scaling up carbon removal.
The summit attracted 400 participants in person and thousands more online. It has become a central convening of DAC and carbon removal experts from around the world. As I stand up a new initiative aimed at scaling carbon removal in Canada, the sessions and networking provided useful insights on where the industry is going, the opportunities on the horizon, and challenges we should expect to contend with. I personally came away from the event re-energized about the prospects of DAC and carbon removal more broadly.
The team at Climeworks did a great job organizing and hosting this event, and they worked with me to facilitate a handful of interviews live from the event venue with leaders in the carbon removal field to discuss their reflections from the summit and what is energizing them at this important juncture of this new industry. I had a chance to speak with:
* Dr. Julio Friedmann, Chief Scientist at Carbon Direct (LinkedIn, Twitter)
* James Mwangi, Co-Founder and CEO of Africa Climate Ventures (LinkedIn, Twitter)
* Link to: Africa Climate Summit 2023
* Ugbaad Kosar, Director of Environmental Justice at Carbon180 (LinkedIn, Twitter)
* Dr. Marcius Extavour, Chief Climate Solutions Officer at TIME CO2 (LinkedIn, Twitter)
I think the substance of these conversations reveal some valuable themes coming out of the event itself that I hope will be orienting and enlightening as we navigate this rapidly growing sector.
This podcast is created and published by Naâim Merchant. Episode production and content support provided by Lucia Simonelli.
Naâim Merchant is the co-founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada, a policy initiative focused on scaling carbon removal in Canada. He is also a policy fellow with Elemental Excelerator. He previously ran carbon removal consulting practice Carbon Curve, and publishes The Carbon Curve newsletter and podcast. Every two weeks, Naâim will release a short interview with individuals advancing the policies, technologies, and collective action needed to scale up carbon removal around the world.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast app or subscribe via The Carbon Curve newsletter here. If youâd like to get in touch with Naâim, you can reach out via Twitter and LinkedIn.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carboncurve.substack.com -
Episode 22 is with Dr. Sifang Chen, a Managing Science and Innovation Advisor at Carbon180 and author of the recent white paper, Depending on the Ocean: Research and Policy Priorities for Responsible Ocean Carbon Removal.
We continue to see growing interest in enhancing the ocean's ability to remove and store carbon dioxide. In the last month alone, we've seen the largest investment to date in an ocean-based carbon removal startup, California-based Ebb Carbon.
Soon after, Dalhousie University announced it received CA$154 million - its largest grant ever - from the Canadian government to investigate the ocean's role in climate change, including advancing the science and technology around ocean-based carbon removal. In the face of economic uncertainty, it looks like ocean-based carbon removal isn't going anywhere, but a number of critical questions remain about its future.
Today Naâim speaks with Dr. Sifang Chen from Carbon180 to learn more about ocean carbon removal pathways and how policy can help clarify efficacy, ecosystem impacts, and necessary regulations and governance.
Dr. Chen authored the recently published Carbon180 white paper entitled, Depending on the Ocean: Research and Policy Priorities for Responsible Ocean Carbon Removal. This paper explores how policy can help lower existing uncertainties around ocean carbon removal and offers specific recommendations aimed at clarifying efficacy, ecosystem impacts, and necessary regulations and governance.
In this episode, Naâim and Sifang discuss:
* Fun facts about the ocean and the immense amount we still donât know about it;
* Categories and types of ocean carbon removal methods;
* Major challenges facing ocean carbon removal;
* A responsible vs. irresponsible future for ocean carbon removal;
* Policyâs role in ensuring the responsible future; and
* Centering environmental justice in ocean carbon removal.
Relevant Links:
* Depending on the Ocean: Research and Policy Priorities for Responsible Ocean Carbon Removal
* Ebb Carbonâs $20M Series A raise
* Dalhousie University receives CA$154M to study the oceanâs pivotal role in climate change
* Follow Sifang on Twitter and LinkedIn
About Dr. Sifang Chen
Dr. Sifang Chen is a Managing Science and Innovation Advisor at Carbon180 and currently leads the organization's ocean CDR focus. Sifang works to ensure Carbon180âs policy work is informed by the most up-to-date science and industry knowledge. She has previously worked in science policy, biotechnology, and nanotechnology. Sifang holds a BS in physics from the University of British Columbia and PhD in physics from the University of Washington.
This podcast is created and published by Naâim Merchant. Episode production and content support provided by Lucia Simonelli.
Naâim Merchant is the co-founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada, a policy initiative focused on scaling carbon removal in Canada. He is also a policy fellow with Elemental Excelerator. He previously ran carbon removal consulting practice Carbon Curve, and publishes The Carbon Curve newsletter and podcast. Every two weeks, Naâim will release a short interview with individuals advancing the policies, technologies, and collective action needed to scale up carbon removal around the world.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast app or subscribe via The Carbon Curve newsletter here. If youâd like to get in touch with Naâim, you can reach out via Twitter and LinkedIn.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carboncurve.substack.com -
Episode 21 of the Carbon Curve is with Dr. Shuchi Talati, founder of the recently launched nonprofit, The Alliance for Just Deliberation for Solar Geoengineering.
In this episode, Naâim and Dr. Shuchi Talati talk about shifting the conversation on two major climate interventions in the course of her career. First, we discuss her experience working with the Department of Energy to help facilitate a major shift in mandate for the Office of Fossil Energy and making it the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management. Second, we discuss an exciting new nonprofit that proposes a major shift in how we advance deliberations on a contentious topic that is often wrongly conflated with carbon removal - solar geo engineering.
In this episode, Naâim and Dr. Talati discuss:
* Dr. Talatiâs experience as Chief of Staff of DOEâs Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management;
* DOEâs CDR initiatives including the Carbon Negative Shot, Direct Air Capture Hubs, and Mission Innovation;
* The growing focus on environmental justice and community engagement in CDR;
* The important distinction between CDR and solar geoengineering;
* The need for inclusive governance structures and capacity building in the context of solar geoengineering; and
* The launch of her new nonprofit, The Alliance for Just Deliberation for Solar Geoengineering.
Relevant Links:
* Our New Name is also a New Vision (DOE)
* DOEâs Carbon Negative Shot
* Mission Innovation - CDR
* How Direct Air Capture Succeeds: A framework for Effective DAC Hubs
* The Alliance for Just Deliberation for Solar Geoengineering
About Dr. Shuchi Talati
Dr. Talati is the founder of the recently launched nonprofit, The Alliance for Just Deliberation for Solar Geoengineering. She is also a Senior Visiting Scholar at Carbon180 where she is focusing on how to build just and sustainable carbon removal at scale. She most recently served as a Presidential Appointee in the Biden-Harris Administration as Chief of Staff of the Office of Fossil Energy & Carbon Management at the U.S. Department of Energy. She has also worked for multiple nonprofits as well as in the U.S. Senate. Dr. Talati earned a BS in environmental engineering from Northwestern University, an MA in climate and society from Columbia University, and PhD from Carnegie Mellon in engineering and public policy.
This podcast is created and published by Naâim Merchant. Episode production and content support provided by Lucia Simonelli.
Naâim Merchant is the co-founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada, a policy initiative focused on scaling carbon removal in Canada. He is also a policy fellow with Elemental Excelerator. He previously ran carbon removal consulting practice Carbon Curve, and publishes The Carbon Curve newsletter and podcast. Every two weeks, Naâim will release a short interview with individuals advancing the policies, technologies, and collective action needed to scale up carbon removal around the world.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast app or subscribe via The Carbon Curve newsletter here. If youâd like to get in touch with Naâim, you can reach out via Twitter and LinkedIn.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carboncurve.substack.com -
Episode 20 of The Carbon Curve is with Marian KrĂŒger, co-lead of the Remove Accelerator and Decarbonization Lead for Sus.Lab at ETH ZĂŒrich
Letâs hop over the Atlantic and talk about the carbon removal (or CDR) innovation and policy landscape in Europe. The EU is the worldâs third largest economy, and itâs well positioned to have a major impact on the future of carbon removal policy and innovation. I wanted to understand Europe's potential in terms of what's in the innovation pipeline, as well as what systemic gaps need to be addressed to make Europe a carbon removal powerhouse.
Today, Naâim speaks to Marian KrĂŒger, co-lead of the Remove Accelerator and Decarbonization Lead for Sus.Lab at ETH ZĂŒrich. Remove is a new accelerator program designed to support carbon removal innovators while strengthening the CDR ecosystem.
Sus.Lab or The Sustainability in Business Lab is a âThink and Do Tankâ launched by the Chair for Sustainability and Technology at ETH ZĂŒrich. The lab was founded in 2016 with a mission to bring sustainability research into the real world through hands-on industry projects.
The Remove Accelerator (formerly known as Carbon Removal ClimAccelerator before the rebrand) is Europeâs first and only accelerator program purely focused on CDR startups. Originated as a project at ETH Zurichâs Sustainability in Business Lab, the non-profit, non-equity program has supported more than 60 European early-stage CDR startups since its start in 2021 with coaching, expert matchmaking, ecosystem access and non-dilutive capital.
In this episode, Naâim and Marian discuss:
* The carbon removal work at ETH ZĂŒrichâs Sustainability in Business Lab
* The genesis and evolution of the Remove Accelerator (previously the Carbon Removal ClimAccelerator)
* Country-level carbon removal policies in the EU and UK
* EU-level policy progress and gaps
Relevant Links:
* Sus.Lab at ETH ZĂŒrich
* Carbon removal work
* DemoUpCARMA & DemoUpStorage
* Remove Accelerator
* EU Carbon Removal Certification Framework
* Luxembourg Negative Emissions Tariff
* The L NET Straw Proposal - A Negative Emissions Tariff for Luxembourg and Beyond
* Swedenâs carbon removal strategy
* Is Sweden becoming the world leader on BECCS?
* Switzerlandâs long term climate strategy
* UK greenhouse gas removal (GGR) business models
About Marian KrĂŒger:
Marian KrĂŒger has spent his whole career in impact entrepreneurship. First as a venture developer at the German green utility, Innogy, before founding his own startup, Ucair, to increase photovoltaic yield using drones and AI data analytics. After its acquisition, he went on to join ETH Zurichâs Sustainability in Business Lab as Decarbonization Lead and co-founded and now leads the Remove Accelerator. Marian holds two Masters degrees, one in education and one in behavioral economics and sustainability from the London School of Economics.
This podcast is created and published by Naâim Merchant. Episode production and content support provided by Lucia Simonelli.
Naâim Merchant is the co-founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada, a policy initiative focused on scaling carbon removal in Canada. He previously ran carbon removal consulting practice Carbon Curve, and publishes The Carbon Curve newsletter and podcast. Every two weeks, Naâim will release a short interview with individuals advancing the policies, technologies, and collective action needed to scale up carbon removal around the world.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast app or subscribe via The Carbon Curve newsletter here. If youâd like to get in touch with Naâim, you can reach out via Twitter and LinkedIn.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carboncurve.substack.com -
Episode 19 of The Carbon Curve is with Ted Christie-Miller, Head of Carbon Removal at BeZero Carbon
Scalability is essential to the success of long-term CDR deployment - it is broadly acknowledged that by midcentury, CDR must grow from its current capacity of thousands of tons to billions of tons of removal per year. But how do we evaluate the potential to scale, the barriers that could prevent the necessary scaling, and the levers needed to overcome these barriers?
BeZero Carbon is a ratings agency for the voluntary carbon market. Combining expertise across climate science, finance and policy, it provides ratings, risk and data tools that improve information accessibility and decision making with the aim to build markets for environmental impact. As part of its work on carbon removal, BeZero Carbon has developed a methodology for assessing scalability across multiple carbon removal methods.
Ted Christie-Miller, BeZero Carbonâs Head of Carbon Removal, discusses how the methodology was developed, what it can be used for, what its limitations are, and whatâs next for BeZero on assessing CDR going forward.
In this episode, Naâim and Ted discuss:
* The strategic importance of long-duration CDR to BeZero Carbon and why BeZero decided to assess the scalability of long-duration CDR methods;
* The methodology used to assess CDR methods and how itâs different from methodologies used by other groups;
* Challenges and surprises the team encountered when assessing scalability;
* Key take-aways from this analysis and how BeZero hopes this assessment will be used, as well as planned future work.
Relevant Links:
* Carbon Removal Scalability assessment
* Introduction
* Methodology
* Summary
* Deep Dive: Biochar
* Investing in early-stage carbon dioxide removal
* Removals for Growth
* Carbon Removals in the VCM
* Barriers to scaling the long-duration carbon dioxide removal industry (CarbonPlan, by Naâim Merchant, Freya Chay, Danny Cullenward, and Jeremy Freeman)
About Ted Christie-Miller:
Ted joined BeZero in October 2021 to lead the carbon removal team at BeZero Carbon. Before joining BeZero he founded and led the cross-party Getting to Zero climate policy programme at the thinktank Onward. He regularly writes in the national media on topics of climate and carbon markets, including for The Times, The Telegraph, CityAM, CarbonPulse and BusinessGreen. Previous research has been cited in a series of UK Government reports, including the Net Zero Review and the Levelling Up White Paper.
This podcast is created and published by Naâim Merchant. Episode production and content support provided by Lucia Simonelli.
Naâim Merchant is the co-founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada, a policy initiative focused on scaling carbon removal in Canada. He previously ran carbon removal consulting practice Carbon Curve, and publishes The Carbon Curve newsletter and podcast. Every two weeks, Naâim will release a short interview with individuals advancing the policies, technologies, and collective action needed to scale up carbon removal around the world.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast app or subscribe via The Carbon Curve newsletter here. If youâd like to get in touch with Naâim, you can reach out via Twitter and LinkedIn.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carboncurve.substack.com -
This is a special episode with Rahima Dosani (my amazing wife) who interviews me about my career transition from working in international development to carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and my thoughts on the CDR field more broadly.
Over the last few years, countless people have asked me about my journey from working in global health to working on climate and the steps I took to shift into this field. Over the holiday break, Rahima and I recorded a special episode to reflect on that journey, including what Iâve learned along the way, what I think about the CDR field more broadly (as well as challenges and opportunities), and the personal impacts of this career transition. We hope this episode offers helpful insights for people looking to make a career move to working on climate in 2023.
About Rahima:
Rahima Dosani works in global health at the US Agency for International Development, where she helps scale up access to cutting-edge health interventions for some of the world's poorest countries. She also worked for the Clinton Health Access Initiative in Malawi, which is where we first met, and in Myanmar after doing healthcare strategy consulting in New York City. Rahima holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Harvard Business School, as well as a Master's in Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health. She spends her spare time teaching yoga and being a private chef in Washington, DC.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast app or subscribe via The Carbon Curve newsletter here. If youâd like to get in touch with Naâim, you can reach out via Twitter and LinkedIn.
Naâim Merchant, Founder and Managing Director of Carbon Curve, is an advisor and thought partner to start-ups, policy groups, and research organizations on scaling up climate technologies to meet the monumental challenge of removing billions of tons of CO2 from the atmosphere. Every week, Naâim will release a short interview with individuals advancing bold new ideas and taking a collective action approach to scaling up carbon removal.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carboncurve.substack.com -
This episode features interviews with Rob Niven (CEO and Chair of Carbon Cure), Shashank Samala (Co-Founder and CEO of Heirloom), Natalia Dorfman (Co-Founder and CEO of Kita), Mike Kelland (Co-Founder and CEO of Planetary), Peter Reinhardt (Co-Founder and CEO at Charm Industrial), Adrian Corless (CEO at CarbonCapture), and Stacy Kauk (Head of Sustainability at Shopify)
This episode is sponsored by Carbonfuture.
Carbonfuture is an end-to-end platform for companies that want to participate in removing carbon from the atmosphere. Unlike conventional marketplaces, Carbonfutureâs monitoring, reporting, and verification platform solves carbon credit uncertainty for buyers like Microsoft and SwissRe while Carbonfutureâs support helps scale the worldâs most promising carbon removal ventures for real climate impact.
2022 has been a big year for carbon removal. I remember saying the same thing about CDR in 2021, and Iâm excited to see what 2023 will bring.
Since the launch of this podcast in June, Iâve interviewed scientists, entrepreneurs, and policy experts on what itâs going to take to reach gigaton-scale carbon removal (CDR).
In the US, weâve seen the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that supports ambitious initiatives like the Direct Air Capture Hubs Program ⊠and of course, the Inflation Reduction Act, a huge win for the climate, and for CDR through the expansion of the 45Q tax credit.
In addition, Frontier Climate, an advance market commitment that provides much-needed revenues to advance the CDR space, launched this past year and has supported a number of CDR companies with pre-purchase and long-term purchase agreements.
There is still a lot to be done to scale CDR, from policy to financing to measurement, reporting, and verification - especially for non-direct air capture CDR methods. But with early policy and financing wins in the books, and programs like DAC Hubs finally getting underway, the focus is shifting to implementation.
So I wanted to use this episode to highlight some of the excellent insights from entrepreneurs, and folks who support those entrepreneurs, from episodes that were recorded over the last year on what it will take to scale CDR.
Iâve had a ton of great guests on this show, so it wasnât easy to put together a greatest-hits episode like this. So I wanted to use this opportunity to shine a spotlight on entrepreneurs in the space running CDR start-ups and organizations that will be critical in implementing CDR at scale.
In this episode, youâll hear from (links to full episodes):
* Rob Niven, Chair and CEO at Carbon Cure
* Shashank Samala, Co-Founder and CEO at Heirloom
* Natalia Dorfman, Co-Founder and CEO at Kita
* Mike Kelland, Co-Founder and CEO at Planetary
* Peter Reinhardt, Co-Founder and CEO at Charm Industrial
* Adrian Corless, CEO and CTO at CarbonCapture
* Stacy Kauk, Head of Sustainability at Shopify
2022 was a busy year. Here are some of my favorite Carbon Curve posts, episodes, and projects from this last year worth checking out:
* đšđŠ Canada: The next leader in carbon dioxide removal?
* đ” Rapidly reducing the costs of carbon removal (guest post by Grant Faber)
* đ” Three innovative funding solutions for carbon removal (co-authored with Max Bode and Johannes Lohmann)
* đïž My podcast episode with Peter Minor at Carbon180 on high-accountability measurement, reporting and verification
* đïž My episode with Celina Scott-Buechler at Data for Progress on equitable CDR deployment
* âïž My report with Clean Air Task Force on decarbonizing aviation
* đ My report with CarbonPlan on the barriers to scaling the CDR industry
* đ Three countries positioned to lead on government procurement of carbon removal
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast app or subscribe via The Carbon Curve newsletter here. If youâd like to get in touch with Naâim, you can reach out via Twitter and LinkedIn.
Naâim Merchant, Founder and Managing Director of Carbon Curve, is an advisor and thought partner to start-ups, policy groups, and research organizations on scaling up climate technologies to meet the monumental challenge of removing billions of tons of CO2 from the atmosphere. Every week, Naâim will release a short interview with individuals advancing bold new ideas and taking a collective action approach to scaling up carbon removal.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carboncurve.substack.com - Mostrar más
