WHAT ABOUT CARBON REMOVAL? Climate solution or corporate distraction?

To mitigate climate change, we must reduce new emissions. But what about the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere? And what about the emissions that we can’t easily reduce with existing technologies?

In this episode, James and Daisy discuss carbon dioxide removal (CDR). How is it done? What does it cost? And do we really need it?

SOME RECOMMENDATIONS:

• The State of CDR – Reports on the state of progress. Nearly 2.1 billion tonnes of CO₂ are already being removed annually, but around 7–9 billion tonnes are needed by mid-century.
• CDR.fyi – Provides trusted insights and analytics on durable CDR orders, projects, and financings across the carbon removal market.
• Counteract – Backs early-stage founders fostering innovation in carbon removal.

OTHER ADVOCATES AND RESOURCES:

• IPCC – CDR refers to technologies, practices, and approaches that remove and durably store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It only refers to human activities that intentionally remove CO2 (not natural CO2 removal such as natural forest growth).
• RMI (2023) – CDR approaches can be sorted into three categories: (1) Biogenic CDR (plants); (2) Geochemical CDR (minerals); and (3) Synthetic CDR (energy).
• WRI (2026) – Outlines six carbon removal methods. Note: carbon removal is different from carbon capture and storage (CCS), which captures emissions at the source (a form of emission reduction).
• RMI (2024) – Five charts showing how much CO2 we need to remove from the atmosphere.
• CDR.fyi (2026) – Approximately $3.6B in private capital was invested in CDR companies between 2021 and 2025, with Direct Air Capture (DAC) accounting for ~61%.
• Climeworks – A Swiss company specialising in DAC and storage (DACCS) technology.
• 1PointFive – Once operational, the STRATOS facility in Texas aims to capture up to 500,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
• XPRIZE – The XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition is a $100 million global challenge intended to accelerate scalable solutions for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The 2025 winner was Mati Carbon, who use enhanced rock weathering – spreading crushed basalt on smallholder farms in India – to lock CO₂ as bicarbonate for millennia while enhancing soils and boosting crop yields.
• BCG (2025) – Smallholder farmers in India that work with enhanced rock weathering providers have seen ~20%–30% higher yields and ~30% lower fertilizer use, resulting in nearly 20%–25% higher household incomes.
• ESG Today (2026) – Microsoft signed agreements to remove 45 million metric tonnes of CO2 in 2025. By comparison, Frontier Buyers coalition (the second largest purchaser) has purchased around 1.8 million tonnes to date. Microsoft has confirmed that their carbon removal program has not ended but that at times they may “adjust the pace or volume” of procurement.
• Frontier Climate – An advance market commitment to buy an initial $1B+ of permanent carbon removal between 2022 and 2030. It was founded by Stripe, Alphabet, Shopify, Meta, McKinsey and tens of thousands of businesses using Stripe Climate.
• Responsible Investor (2025) – SBTi allows high quality removals to be used for residual emissions (capped at 10% of total emissions).
• Interface – Created the first-ever carbon negative carpet tile.

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Music: “Just Because Some Bad Wind Blows” by Nick Nuttall, Reptiphon Records. Available at https://nicknuttallmusic.bandcamp.com/album/just-because-some-bad-wind-blows-3

Producer: Podshop Studios

Huge thanks to Siobhán Foster, a vital member of the team offering design advice, critical review and organisation that we depend upon.

Stay tuned for more insightful discussions on navigating the transition away from fossil fuels to a sustainable future.