mercredi Novembre 27, 2024

The Role of Carbon Removal: Tech, Policy, and Business Insights

Industrial smokestack blowing smoke over a smoky landscape

Résumé du webinaire

Often cited as the “net” in net zero plans, carbon removal technologies – such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), direct air capture, and nature-based solutions – play a heavy role in decarbonization strategies around the world. As businesses like Microsoft, Meta and Stripe invest billions of dollars in Carbon Dioxide Removal, how can companies navigate high costs and limited availability of high-quality CDR options?

In this conversation between Na’im Merchant (Co-founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada) and Stacy Kauk (Chief Science Officer, Isometric), moderated by our CEO Dan Wicklum, we explored the landscape of carbon removal technologies and policies, with an eye toward scalability, cost-effectiveness, and readiness. Our conversation covered the following:

  • Carbon removals are the « Net » in « Net Zero ». We are already removing carbon from the atmosphere now to achieve net-zero by 2050. If we reach net-zero by 2050, we need to continue to increase removals to avoid further warming from legacy CO2.
  • Carbon removal technologies can be viewed in two broad categories: permanent and non-permanent solutions. Permanent methods are defined as having the ability to store carbon for 1,000 years or more. For example, carbon mineralization, which uses natural processes to convert CO2 into stable minerals, ensures carbon is durably stored out of the atmosphere. Planting trees, meanwhile, is a non-permanent solution in that a forest fire or deforestation would lead to the release of stored carbon.
  • The challenge at hand is scaling projects to reach gigaton scale carbon removal.
  • Robust Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) systems are critical to carbon removal. MRV is essential to ensure transparency, credibility, and scalability in carbon removal efforts. As carbon removal technologies grow, scalable MRV enables accurate quantification of captured and stored CO₂, builds stakeholder trust, facilitates compliance with regulations, and ensures alignment with carbon market standards, driving investment and global climate impact.
  • High-quality carbon credits are essential for ensuring durability, fostering market trust, and driving meaningful climate impact. Rigorous, science-backed standards, accurate measurement, and transparency ensure that each credit represents verifiable and durable carbon removals.

Presented with

Personnes invitées

Dan Wicklum, PhD

Directeur général

Dr. Dan Wicklum possède 25 ans d’expérience dans la gestion de la recherche, le soutien à l’innovation et la promotion de la collaboration entre l’industrie, des gouvernements, des universités et de la société civile.

Il est le Directeur général de l’Accélérateur de transition, un organisme de bienfaisance pancanadien qui travaille avec des groupes dans tout le pays pour résoudre des problèmes commerciaux et sociaux tout en établissant des voies de transition viables vers un avenir carboneutre. Dan a également été le premier coprésident du Groupe consultatif pour la carboneutralité (GCPC), un groupe d’experts Canadiens indépendants qui conseille le gouvernement fédéral sur l’atteinte de la carboneutralité d’ici 2050 et sur les voies les plus probantes pour y parvenir.

Avant de se joindre à l’Accélérateur de transition, Dan était PDG de l’Alliance canadienne pour l’innovation dans le secteur des sables bitumineux (COSIA), directeur exécutif du Conseil canadien de l’innovation forestière et cadre supérieur à Environnement et Changement climatique Canada et à Ressources naturelles Canada. Il a été professeur adjoint de recherche à l’université du Montana, et détient un doctorat en écologie aquatique de l’université du Montana. Il a commencé sa carrière dans le football professionnel comme secondeur pour les Stampeders de Calgary et les Blue Bombers de Winnipeg.

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Personnes invitées

Na'im Merchant

Co-founder and Executive Director, Carbon Removal Canada

Na’im Merchant is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada. He is passionate about the potential for carbon removal to meet climate goals while driving economic and social change. Na’im is also an advisor to Terraset and the Carbon Removal Standards Initiative, and was previously an Elemental Impact Policy Fellow.

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Stacy Kauk

Chief Science Officer, Isometric

At Isometric, Stacy is responsible for leading our science team. This includes ensuring that rigorous science underpins all of Isometric’s carbon crediting decisions and that the Protocols and Modules are in line with the Isometric Standard.

Stacy was previously Head Of Sustainability at Shopify where she was responsible for building Shopify’s $55M+ CDR portfolio and was a founding member of Frontier. She also serves on the advisory boards of Carbon Removal Canada and Collaborative Fund, a venture capital firm.

She has a background in environmental engineering and public policy, and has 20 years of experience working at the intersection of science and regulation in both the private and public sectors.

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