Carbon Removal Newsroom
A bite-sized podcast for carbon removal news on-the-go. Each episode features unique guests and perspectives.
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In January of 2022, New York Assemblymember Patricia Fahy and State Senator Michelle Hinchey introduced the *Carbon Dioxide Removal Leadership Act*. The proposed legislation aims to use public procurement of carbon removal to help meet the state’s emissions reductions goals by purchasing enough removals to cover the state’s “hard-to-abate” sector’s by 2050- 15% of the state’s 1990 emissions. Under this law, the state will use reverse auctions to purchase measurable and verifiable removals. The legislation also mandates that community benefits and job creation factor into the auction. CDRLA was developed by a grassroots, online, volunteer climate advocacy community called the *OpenAir* Collective. Last year, OpenAir advocates successfully wrote and championed a bill in New York State that aims to decarbonize the concrete sector there. Members of the group are also working on other projects, such as building several open-source direct air capture prototypes. In this episode Radhika and *Chris* are joined by OpenAir’s *Toby Bryce* who describes how the legislation was created through their organization’s open-source approach and how the law will work if it becomes law. Chris dives into how this kind of legislation could work from a convservative point of view, and how reverse auctions can be an effective way for public procurement to support competitive markets. For more info on CDRLA and OpenAir visit… - *Bill No. A8597* / *Senate Bill S8171* - *CDRLA **FAQ* - *Legislative brief* - *Support memo* - *Join OpenAir* - *Follow OpenAir on Twitter* - *OpenAir's This Is CDR webinar series* Toby *on Twitter* Chris *on Twitter* --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/carbonremovalnewsroom/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/carbonremovalnewsroom/support
Listen to the episodeIn this week’s episode of *Carbon Removal Newsroom*, hosts Radhika Moolgavkar and Dr. Jane Zelikova are joined by Heirloom’s Head of Research and Process Engineering, Noah Mcqueen. Heirloom is a Direct Air Capture company that launched in April 2021. Noah and our hosts discuss the science of Heirloom’s approach, the techno-economic challenges to scaling DAC, and the kind of continuous research and materials development necessary to grow the industry. In 2021, Noah and several co-authors published a *review* of existing DAC technologies in the journal Process in Energy. The paper provided a techno-economic assessment of the two most researched and developed DAC methods- liquid solvent and solid sorbent. The researchers used their findings to examine what will be needed to scale up these technologies quickly. They also made recommendations for how research can be directed to support the widespread deployment of DAC. Heirloom received investment from Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Lowercarbon Capital and sold carbon removal credits to Shopify and Stripe. The technique they are pursuing has not been commercialized before and was co-invented by some of the leading experts in the industry, including Dr. Peter Keleman, Dr. Jennifer Wilcox, Dr. Greg Dipple, and Noah. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/carbonremovalnewsroom/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/carbonremovalnewsroom/support
Listen to the episodePanelists *Susan Su* of TOBA Capital and *Na’im Merchant*, author of the *Carbon Curve*, join host Radhika Moolgavkar of Nori for this business-focused episode of *Carbon Removal Newsroom*. Na’im recently published a piece titled “8 Unique Direct Air Capture Companies to Watch in 2022” where he wrote, “2030 is a critical decade for DAC in which companies, researchers, and policymakers working on DAC to figure out how to do three things— 1. improve DAC’s performance, 2. bring down costs, and 3. responsibly deploy the technology.” Three well-known ‘incumbents’ have been working on DAC since 2009, and they all had big developments in 2021: Climeworks, Carbon Engineering, and Global Thermostat. However, the scale of the problem will require many more companies to capture billions of tons of CO2 annually, globally. There are many new entrants into the DAC space, but there is limited public information on many of them. Most of these startups are attempting novel technological approaches distinct from existing deployments. Na’im, Susan, and Radhika discuss what sets this crop of DAC companies apart from those that came before, which ones they are excited about, and how they would be planning their approach to market if they were on the inside of one of these startups. In our second segment, we dive into Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s inaugural *Long-Term Carbon Offset Outlook 2022**, *released earlier this month. The report models several supply and demand scenarios for offset prices. Main author Kyle Harrison says,* “No matter the scenario, corporations and other entities looking to buy carbon offsets shouldn’t expect them to be a get-out-of-jail-free card for much longer.”* While the conversation begins as a breakdown of the BNEF report, it zooms out into a wider trading of philosophies about how the carbon offset market should be regulated. Na’im and Susan elucidate some of the most contentious issues surrounding carbon offsets. We end the show with some good news— fewer oil derricks in Los Angeles and a lot more cultured meat in China. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/carbonremovalnewsroom/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/carbonremovalnewsroom/support
Listen to the episodePanelists Dr. Holly Jean Buck of the University at Buffalo and Chris Barnard of the American Conservation Coalition join host Radhika Moolgavkar of Nori for this policy-focused episode of *Carbon Removal Newsroom*. In April of 2021, Raj Kumar Singh, an Indian energy Minister, *said* at a UN conference that rich countries need to be net-negative and remove atmospheric co2 to account for historical emissions. While decades of climate diplomacy focused on emissions to come, Singh worked to shift the conversation towards pollution already emitted. Later last year, journalist and author of popular climate book The Uninhabitable Earth David Wallace-Wells penned *Climate Reparations* in New York Magazine. The long-form piece connected the inequitable effects of climate change, more drastically and quickly hitting tropical and global south countries, with the political outcomes made possible by carbon removal technology. He points out that half of emissions come from 10% of the world’s population and that climate change has already decreased the GDP of some global south countries, while it has increased GDPs in the global North. This dynamic will continue and will widen already stark global wealth inequalities. Wells reviews the field of technical CDR and finds that while it could present temptation for delay, it also provides revolutionary possibilities if historical emitters are made to pay to remove their pollution. He calls this ‘climate reparations’ and quotes philosopher Olufemi Taiwo (*who coined that term*) “It’s just so clear to me that carbon removal is squarely the kind of thing that fits into the reparations framework.” In this episode, we discuss the Wallace-Wells' piece and zoom in on climate reparations and climate colonialism, defining these phrases in more depth and explaining how these approaches might impact policies and institutions. We also discuss the idea that carbon removal is not limited by physics, so what is carbon removal scaling limited by? We round out the episode with the good news and the *interesting *news of the week, then we bid a warm farewell to our beloved co-host Holly, who will be going on sabbatical for the year. We will miss you Holly and look forward to seeing you back on the show! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/carbonremovalnewsroom/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/carbonremovalnewsroom/support
Listen to the episodeIn this week’s science-focused episode of *Carbon Removal Newsroom*, hosts *Radhika Moolgavkar* of Nori and *Holly Jean Buck* of the University at Buffalo are joined once again by co-host *Dr. Jane Zelikova*, executive director of the *Soil Carbon Solutions Center* and joint faculty in crop and soil science at Colorado State University. We’re looking at two recently published studies which explore the challenges and opportunities around managing croplands and rangelands to draw down and store atmospheric carbon while making agriculture more sustainable. We start by answering the questions, what is soil organic matter? How is it related to carbon? Then we look at how the results of the first study link to the broader fields of conservation agriculture, soil health, and soil carbon sequestration. Next we look at the second study, which examines how management of cover crops in temperate climates influences soil organic carbon stocks. Last, we discuss the upcoming USDA policies that might affect soil carbon, and finishing the episode with a good news story of the week. *Resources* *Soil organic matter protects US maize yields and lowers crop insurance payouts under drought*. Daniel A Kane et al. 2021, Environmental Research Letters, March 2021 *Management of cover crops in temperate climates influences soil organic carbon stocks: a meta-analysis*. McClelland et al. 2020, Ecological Applications, December 2020 *Off-Season 'Cover' Crops Expand as US Growers Eye Low-Carbon Future* *USDA Launches First Phase of Soil Carbon Monitoring Efforts* *Soil Health Congressional Bill Tracker* *Kiss the Ground * --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/carbonremovalnewsroom/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/carbonremovalnewsroom/support
Listen to the episodeThis week on *Carbon Removal Newsroom*, we’re recapping a year of carbon removal— what went right, what went wrong, and what we’re expecting in 2022. In 2021, terms like Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR), Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), Negative Emissions Technologies (NETs) entered mainstream climate discourse, corporate plans, and government agendas. The IPCC’s 6th Assessment *Report* was released in August and underscored the need for carbon removal by highlighting the likelihood of global overshooting of the Paris goals. The United States supported DAC and carbon storage like never before with the Bipartisan Infrastructure *bill* passed in November. Climeworks launched its *Orca* facility in Iceland, which is making rocks underground out of our atmospheric carbon pollution as we speak. Nasdaq *purchased* a carbon removal marketplace. A growing share of the world’s economy was covered by ambitious net-zero commitments, which imply that maybe, at some point, corporations and governments might start removing a lot of co2 from the air. Meanwhile, Exxon *snapped* up some prime carbon storage property in the Gulf of Mexico, United Airlines started assuaging travelers with advertisements of airline-sponsored DAC, and China *said* it might keep a few coal plants open down the line but cancel out the emissions by capturing atmospheric carbon. Those stories, plus so many more, made 2021 a landmark year for the field (and we didn’t even say the words *Elon Musk*). Let’s rundown the year that was and look ahead to 2022. Panelists Dr. Holly Jean Buck of the University at Buffalo and Chris Barnard of the American Conservation Coalition join host Radhika Moolgavkar of Nori for this episode. *Resources:* *A Research Strategy for Ocean-based Carbon Dioxide Removal and Sequestration* *Carbon Brief Newsletters* *CDR Primer 2021* *The Climate Solution Actually Adding Millions of Tons of CO2 Into the Atmosphere* *Climate Reparations* (Intelligencer) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/carbonremovalnewsroom/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/carbonremovalnewsroom/support
Listen to the episodeIn this week’s science-focused episode of *Carbon Removal Newsroom*, hosts *Radhika Moolgavkar* of Nori and *Holly Jean Buck* of the University at Buffalo are joined by co-host *Dr. Jane Zelikova*, executive director of the *Soil Carbon Solutions Center* and joint faculty in crop and soil science at Colorado State University. This week we’re discussing *new research* which explores the relationship between geology, climate, and weathering rates across the continental United States, as well as an *opinion piece* in the journal Global Change Biology, arguing that biological processes will also affect the carbon removal potential of enhanced weathering. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/carbonremovalnewsroom/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/carbonremovalnewsroom/support
Listen to the episodeThis week on *Carbon Removal Newsroom*, we’re bringing you the most significant Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) policy updates from COP26. At the time of this episode’s release, COP26 is coming to a close. Many countries are pledging to bring their emissions to net-zero in the next few decades. What are the specifics of these new pledges, how does CDR fit into all of this, and what needs to happen to push the CDR industry forward in a timely manner? Plus, last Friday night, House Democrats along with 13 Republican Representatives voted to pass the *Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal* that their Senate colleagues had approved 87 days earlier. Included in the bill is $3.5b to build four direct air capture hubs— an amount that dwarfs all other federal support of DAC to date. The bill also provides $2.5b to build geologic storage sites for storing the gas underground and $2.1b to transport it via pipelines. Will this all be enough to create significant progress towards U.S. climate goals? Our good news story of the week centers around Biden’s *Carbon Removal “Earthshot” initiative*, which has the goal of bringing carbon removal costs to $100/ton by 2030. We are joined by special guest host *David Morrow*, the Director of Research at the Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy at American University, and Research Fellow at the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy at George Mason University. As always, hosts *Radhika Moolgavkar* of Nori and *Holly Jean Buck* of the University at Buffalo are here to weigh in on the latest carbon removal happenings. *Resources* *Sustainable Carbon Removal Report* (Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy) *Why the BID is a BIG Down Payment on Clean Energy* *Buying down the Cost of Direct Air Capture* *U.S. sets goal to drive down cost of removing CO2 from atmosphere* --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/carbonremovalnewsroom/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/carbonremovalnewsroom/support
Listen to the episodeThis science-focused episode of *Carbon Removal Newsroom* features hosts *Radhika Moolgavkar* of Nori, *Holly Jean Buck* of the University at Buffalo, and *Dr. Jane Zelikova*, executive director of the *Soil Carbon Solutions Center* and joint faculty in crop and soil science at Colorado State University. This week, world leaders continue climate discussions at COP26 in Glasgow, with one of the recurring conversations focusing on protecting the world’s forests. A *new forest initiative called LEAF*, or Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance, was supported by the US and UK governments as well as some large multinational corporations like Amazon and Unilever. LEAF would allow developing nations to sell forest carbon offsets in the voluntary carbon markets— but should these count as carbon credits? Is additional carbon being stored? We also look at *forest carbon over-crediting in California*, where research teams from several US Universities found that the state had over-counted forest CO2 by 30%. So who is responsible for this large quantity of excess credits? As always, we end the episode with a good news story of the week. *Resources* *Systematic over-crediting in California’s forest carbon offsets program* *Re-branding REDD: How the LEAF Coalition aims to greenwash Big Polluters like Delta Airlines, Amazon, Bayer, Nestlé, Salesforce, and Unilever* --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/carbonremovalnewsroom/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/carbonremovalnewsroom/support
Listen to the episodeWe’re back with another business-focused episode of *Carbon Removal Newsroom,* hosted by Radhika Moolgavkar, Nori’s Head of Supply and Methodology, along with *Holly Jean Buck*, Assistant Professor of Environment and Sustainability at the University at Buffalo (P.S.— look out for Holly’s new book, *Ending Fossil Fuels: Why Net-Zero Is Not Enough*, coming out on November 16th!). Plus, we’re joined by our co-host for business-focused episodes: *Susan Su*, partner focused on climate investing at *Toba Capital* and course creator for *Climate Change for VCs*, a course and community through terra.do. This week, we are taking a look at the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), the summit in Glasgow which begins Sunday, October 31st and lasts for two weeks. Specifically, we dive into the *UK’s announcement calling for a global net-zero commitment by 2050**,* and what the implications of this goal might be for the carbon removal industry. Next, we discuss some of the VC funding that happened in October, particularly for *CarbonCapture*, a modular DAC company, that landed a huge round. Plus, Anglo-Australian mining company *Rio Tinto recently announced* a plan to invest $7.5b by 2030 into decarbonizing their business. Does their foray into Direct Air Capture signal a trend that big emitters are ready to invest into this technology at the scale necessary to really bring down costs per ton? Or are they looking for a way to avoid emissions cuts? Or both? We finish the episode with *two* good news stories from Susan: the first is that *electric car sales more than doubled* year-over-year in August to over 516,400! Second is that turtle populations in Cape Verde rose from around ten thousand in 2015, to almost 200,000 this year after successful conservation efforts. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/carbonremovalnewsroom/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/carbonremovalnewsroom/support
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