Reversing Climate Change

You can judge the progress of an industry by its number of sh*tty first drafts. And if we have any hope of getting to gigatonne-scale carbon removal by 2030, we need a greater diversity of ideas in the CDR space. We need entrepreneurs who dare to think differently. We need more sh*tty first drafts. So, what can we do to encourage this kind of radical risk-taking in carbon removal? Where can entrep...

Startups in the CDR space need to succeed quickly if we want to reverse climate change before time runs out. But the current system requires that climatetech founders often devote time to pitching VCs and filling out multiple grant applications. Time that would be better spent developing their solutions. So, what can we do to connect emerging carbon removal companies with the funding they need to...

While large, industrial cheesemakers are known for consistency and scale, small operations like Uplands Cheese make boutique cheeses unique to the land where they’re produced. And these small, pasture-based dairy farms have their own unique concerns when it comes to climate change. So, how is extreme weather already affecting operations like Uplands Cheese? How does climate factor into future plan...

Much has been written about the European Theater in World War II. But the war in the Pacific Theater was the largest naval war ever fought. It covered the entire breadth of the Pacific Ocean, and much of the fighting took place in remote, wild environments. How did the conflict impact those environments heretofore untouched by the outside world? And what about the Indigenous peoples who lived ther...

With a problem as monumental as the climate crisis, we have a tendency toward proportionality bias. We often believe that the issue has a single cause and can only be solved with a few large-scale solutions. But in the case of climate change, a diversity of solutions may be faster and more effective than putting all our eggs in a few big baskets. And that’s why Todd Myers focuses on what individua...

Of all philanthropy globally, only a couple percentage points go to climate in general. And of that couple percentage points, only something like 2% of climate giving is dedicated to carbon removal. The problem is, we need to fund several gigatonnes of carbon removal per year by 2050 to combat climate change. And that’s going to cost hundreds of billions of dollars. So, how do we encourage governm...

Cheese can be both rarified and common. It is also an industry that impacts and is impacted by climate change. Today’s guest is author and cheese expert, Liz Thorpe. Liz is known for working her way up at New York City’s Murray’s Cheese shop, and taking it from a specialty shop to kiosks in Kroger stores across America, making cheese accessible and available to the American general public. Today,...

The first cleantech bubble burst in the oughts, but the industry didn’t go away. And now, we’ve entered a second big wave of "climatetech" investment. So, is this wave more promising than the first? Are we moving into a golden age for climatetech? Or is it too dissimilar to make comparisons? Joel Makower is Cofounder and Chairman of GreenBiz , a leading media and events company at the intersection...

To tackle the climate change problem, we need to move traditional industries closer to net-zero and create new industries from scratch. But how do you build a new carbon removal industry, for example? What is the best way to nurture startups in the climatetech space? Jennifer Wagner is a Breakthrough Energy Business Fellow where she helps early-stage climatetech startups advance the groundbreaking...

Progressives generally support regulations that protect the environment. But the permitting process has become so complex that it can take five years and 500 pages of documentation to get a project off the ground. And that red tape is holding up the clean energy projects we need to reverse climate change. Chris Barnard is Policy Director at the American Conservation Coalition and a regular guest o...

As the number of blockchain-enabled climate solutions multiplies, founders need funding to get their projects off the ground. Ben West is Head of Causes at Gitcoin , a company that helps early-stage crypto projects get funding. In his role, Ben supports Gitcoin’s climate solutions, DE&I, decentralized science, and advocacy rounds. On this episode of Reversing Climate Change , Ben joins Ross an...

To facilitate carbon removal at gigaton scale, we need investors to put their money in climate solutions. But VCs are often used to investing in in bits, not atoms. Climatetech hardware is more expensive and more challenging to replicate than software in many cases. And it’s more challenging to achieve orders of magnitude growth in a physical environment than a digital one. So, what is the best wa...

Darwin and others theorized that evolution was about the survival of the fittest. But when Peter Kropotkin followed up on Darwin’s research, he discovered the competition was only part of the story of evolution in nature. And Kropotkin argued that cooperation and collaboration among organisms also helps them evolve. So, why is Darwin’s narrative the dominant one? And how can an understanding of mu...

When corn is harvested, the remaining corn stover either gets tilled into the soil or left on top. But what if we took a portion of that corn stover, converted it into carbon-rich bio-oil, and pumped it deep underground? Peter Reinhardt is Cofounder and CEO of Charm Industrial , a carbon removal company that is working on a fleet of mobile pyrolyzers that covert ag biomass into bio-oil and sequest...

Lyn Stoler and Sonam Velani have coined the phrase Climate Industrialism to describe the optimistic, action-oriented response to climate change they already see happening in many communities around the world. Lyn and Sonam define Climate Industrialism as ‘a social and economic system built on the creation of climate technologies that yield human and environmental co-benefits.’ What does that mean,...

Does the carbon removal tech you’re developing have a shot at being cost-competitive in the real world? How might you reduce the cost of a given CDR technology? And how do you convince government funders or investors that your carbon removal idea is viable? A techno-economic assessment or TEA answers these questions. So, what is involved in conducting a techno-economic assessment? And how might it...

The easier it is to participate in a sustainability program like Nori, the less motivation it requires for farmers to enroll. But the current lack of digitization in the ag space makes it challenging for farmers to get paid for carbon removal. So, is there an easy way to track agricultural data and compensate farmers for regenerative practices? Dane Braun is Vice President of Product at Bushel , a...

A lot of good comes from travel. It gives us a chance to disconnect and recharge. It exposes us to new things and helps us connect with nature and other people. Plus, we contribute to the local economies in the places we visit. But travel is not always good for planet. And the climate-conscious among us often feel guilty about the emissions we create when we get on a plane or fill up at the pump f...

Local governments are surprisingly powerful levers for carbon removal. While large national governments can be slow and unwieldy, cities and counties can sometimes be much more nimble. They can get carbon removal projects off the ground quickly and share what they learn with other local governments. So, which municipalities are taking the lead in the CDR space? And how do they integrate carbon rem...

There are few ways for individuals to participate in carbon removal. Typically, carbon removal is something that someone else does that you pay for. But what if there was a way for you to practice carbon removal in your own backyard with biochar? Connor Lascelles and Lottie Hawkins are the Cofounders of Earthly Biochar , a company that manufactures consumer-accessible biochar kilns. On this episod...

We live in a culture that glamorizes grit and derides giving up. But in the world of climate startups, we can’t afford to spend time on projects that aren’t working. So, how do you know when to quit? Decision Strategist Annie Duke is a retired professional poker player and World Series of Poker bracelet holder. She is also the author of several books, including Quit: The Power of Knowing When to W...

Communicating the science behind climate change is a challenge. But when you present these concepts in an artistic way and make the data beautiful, it’s more engaging and easier to understand. And more likely to inspire climate action. Nicole Kelner is Artist-in-Residence at My Climate Journey , where she communicates the complex challenges of climate change in a beautiful, accessible way. On this...

Nori lives at the intersection of climate and crypto, attempting to build a global commodities market for carbon removal on the blockchain. And while we’ve discussed carbon removal at length on the podcast, we’ve spent less time exploring how one might use crypto to determine a reference price for carbon. So, what does Nori look like under the hood? How can we use the blockchain as a tool to get t...

Reforestation (and afforestation) projects can take carbon out of the atmosphere. And yet, in our current system, sometimes only the largest, most well-connected projects can afford the verification process. But what if there was a way to maintain the integrity of the MRV (Measurement, Reporting, and Verification) process, while making it accessible to anyone who wants to plant trees? Jeremy Epste...

As a nascent industry, carbon dioxide removal is often misunderstood by the general public. And that makes CDR humor very niche. Maybe only 5% of people will understand it, but those who do really, really appreciate it. Just go to a Halloween party dressed as the Climeworks stock photo, and you’ll see what we mean. Jack Andreasen serves as Manager of Carbon Management in US Policy and Advocacy at...