Carbon Removal Is Stuck in Low Earth Orbit. Here's How We Get Out.
In this episode of The Carbon Curve, host Naeem Merchant talks with Dr. Julio Friedman, chief scientist at Carbon Direct, about the sector’s transition from “CDR 1.0” to “CDR 2.0.” Friedman explains that carbon‑removal projects are stuck in a low‑Earth‑orbit stage because they lack technical readiness, project assurance, standardization, bankability, and transactional ease—the five pillars outlined in their new report. He highlights how corporate buyers, especially CFOs, need low‑risk, large‑scale, and well‑standardized contracts before committing significant capital, and why failures of early pilots can derail the whole market. The conversation also spotlights a new Quebec Surficial Mineralization Hub that could demonstrate a high‑value pathway for mineral‑based CO₂ removal.
Seven Buyers in a Trench Coat
In this episode of The Carbon Curve, host Naim Merchant talks with Jack Andreessen‑Kavanaugh, director of the Carbon Management Program at Columbia’s Center on Global Energy Policy, about Microsoft’s pause on new carbon‑dioxide‑removal (CDR) purchases and what it reveals about...