Reversing Climate Change

Writing fiction about climate change is notoriously difficult. Some authors have gone for massive ensemble casts to defeat the hyperobject. But what if one zoomed in to smaller, quieter, interpersonal stories? Jon Raymond is a screenwriter and novelist whose work I very much enjoy. He is a frequent collaborator of Kelly Reichardt's, on films such as Old Joy, First Cow, Night Moves, and Showing Up. He also adapted James M. Cain's novel, Mildred Pierce, which became an HBO miniseries starring Kate Winslett. His novels in particular deal with our place in a world with a changing climate. His previous work, Denial, concerns itself with questions of climate culpability for the individual person with great skill. His new novel, God and Sex, asks poignant questions about the nature of miracles and doubt from within a climate context. We discuss both books at length in this show. They're both worth reading. Pick a copy of God and Sex while it is fresh off the presses! This Episode's Sponsors Philip Lee LLP: legal resources for carbon removal buyers and suppliers ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: forestry project developer in the EU ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Lisett Luik from Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Become a sponsor by emailing carbon.removal.strategies[at]gmail.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Descript's transcripting and podcast editing service⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Riverside to record your podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up for the 9Zero climate coworking space with my referral code⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠⁠ Buy God and Sex Denial⁠ Bonnie "Prince" Billy Kim Stanley Robinson Adolf Eichmann's trial Eichmann in Jerusalem by Hannah Arendt Manicheaism Jean Valjean Go (re)watch The Sixth Sense—it's great. Ursula K Le Guin

Many hardtech entrepreneurs develop a technology and then figure out how to commercialize it. What happens if you find an industry with potential and then engineer a solution to open an entirely new market to them? Today's show is with two of the cofounders of CO280: Natalie Khtikian, the Chief Commercial Officer, and Jonathan Rhone, the Chief Executive Officer. Natalie and John explain what it's like working with an industry as established as pulp and paper, structuring joint venture deals with them, and showing them the potential upside to opening business lines in carbon removal. The deal mechanics of joint ventures for carbon removal are discussed (though probably deserve their own full show!), and Natalie shares some reasons why she is optimistic about carbon removal despite some of the headwinds the industry is currently experiencing. This Episode's Sponsors ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Lisett Luik from Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Become a sponsor by emailing carbon.removal.strategies[at]gmail.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Descript's transcripting and podcast editing service⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Riverside to record your podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up for the 9Zero climate coworking space with my referral code⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠⁠ CO280's website CDR.fyi's leaderboards

When you finish painting the Golden Gate Bridge, it is time to paint the Golden Gate Bridge. With a subject as interdisciplinary as carbon dioxide removal, a beginner's mind can also be a great asset! Marian Krueger is the co-author of Race to Zero: How Companies Can Lead the Way to Climate Neutrality, an intoductory text to CDR that lucidly explains what carbon removal is, why it's necessary, and how to support its continued development. The book will soon be published (August 4th, 2025), and you should grab a copy for yourself and for the policymaker and/or sustainability professional in your life! Marian's experience as the Co-Founder and Managing Director of remove, a European nonprofit growing the carbon removal ecosystem through accelerator programming, gives him enormous vantage into the sector. This conversation goes broad, deep, and discusses some of the biggest questions in CDR. This Episode's Sponsors ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Lisett Luik from Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Become a sponsor by emailing carbon.removal.strategies[at]gmail.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Descript's transcripting and podcast editing service⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Riverside to record your podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up for the 9Zero climate coworking space with my referral code⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠⁠ Race to Zero: How Companies Can Lead the Way to Climate Neutrality remove This scene from Hamlet 2 captures the feeling of long-form writing very well! "New accounting rules blur the line between decarbonization and carbon dioxide removal" from CarbonPlan re: wastewater treatment alkalinity enhancement Ecological succession S3E56: Could there be a just solar geoengineering?—w/ Shuchi Talati, Founder of The Alliance for Just Deliberation on Solar Geoengineering Martingale (betting system) Cassandra (metaphor)

We primarily talk about pulling carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and ocean and storing it. But there are some places where we should actually be using it productively. Is graphite for lithium-ion batteries one of those places? Makoto Eyre is the Founder and CEO of Homeostasis, a Tacoma-based company making graphite from carbon dioxide. In the future they aim to colocate their reactors with carbon capture and/or removal to create a modular and distributed system of graphite production. Before the Industrial Revolution we had artisanal production and cottage industries. Then we had centralization and automation. What will production look like when centralization is no longer necessary to provide the economies of scale we had always thought it needed? The conventional ways graphite is produced is also not so ecologically-inclined. What if the future were both simpler on supply chains and ecology? This Episode's Sponsors ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠CDRjobs⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode I did about CDRjobs' Salary Survey and why carbon removers should fill it out⁠⁠⁠ Fill out the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠2025 CDRjobs Salary Survey⁠⁠⁠⁠ HERE ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Lisett Luik from Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Become a sponsor by emailing carbon.removal.strategies[at]gmail.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Descript's transcripting and podcast editing service⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Riverside to record your podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up for the 9Zero climate coworking space with my referral code⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠⁠ Homeostasis

When you think of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, you probably aren't thinking about carbon removal. But should you be? Today's guest is Victoria Harvey, CDR Strategy Lead at ClimeFi. ClimeFi just structured the world's first Article 6.2 international transfer of durable carbon removal credits between Norway and Switzerland, and there's a lot to discuss! What is the relationship between corporate climate action and national obligations? Do NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions) impact corporate net-zero targets? Can corporate action satisfy national goals? Does that somehow leave us double-counting carbon removal? This and so many more questions about the mechanics of CDR and climate action get discussed! Tune in to learn more and hear about ClimeFi's important work. This Episode's Sponsors ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠CDRjobs⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode I did about CDRjobs' Salary Survey and why carbon removers should fill it out⁠⁠ Fill out the ⁠⁠⁠⁠2025 CDRjobs Salary Survey⁠⁠⁠ HERE ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Lisett Luik from Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Become a sponsor by emailing carbon.removal.strategies[at]gmail.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Descript's transcripting and podcast editing service⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Riverside to record your podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up for the 9Zero climate coworking space with my referral code⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠⁠ ClimeFi "ClimeFi structures ITMO transfer between Norway and Switzerland under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement" press release Mr. Show's "Pre-Taped Call-In Show" sketch

Many a business was launched in carbon credits trying to fix a conflict of interest problem. Has Absolute Climate cracked the code? Should registries get out of the methodology development business? Peter Minor, CEO and Co-Founder of Absolute Climate, is on the show today to talk about the many issues of trying to create an ultimate standard in carbon removal (hence the amazing xkcd meme), and how he thinks the current system is set up to fail. Are we doomed to always face conflicts of interest? Do we inevitably end up thinking not in terms of ultimate design victory, but balance of power? Is it all just "a dogfight in the Wild West?" Can we all agree upon the same standard? Listen in to Peter and Ross think the big thoughts and try to white hat hack the system to advance CDR. This Episode's Sponsors ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠CDRjobs⁠ ⁠Listen to the RCC episode I did about CDRjobs' Salary Survey and why carbon removers should fill it out⁠ Fill out the ⁠⁠⁠2025 CDRjobs Salary Survey⁠⁠ HERE ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Lisett Luik from Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Become a sponsor by emailing carbon.removal.strategies[at]gmail.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Descript's transcripting and podcast editing service⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Riverside to record your podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up for the 9Zero climate coworking space with my referral code⁠⁠⁠⁠ Resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠⁠ Absolute Climate "Never complain, never explain" Streisand effect The Civil Law Tradition by John Henry Merryman and Rogelio Pérez-Perdomo "Common law" article on Wikipedia The Wide Lens by Ron Adner ⁠The Spotify image is the absolutely legendary and final word on the quest for One True StandardTM, courtesy of xkcd under Creative Commons. No infringement intended, just a celebration of the genius of their brevity.

Salary is touchy. It's tied up with shame on all sides: are we being underpaid? Did we overpay for someone that is unfair? Is it too late to fix it?! Today, host Ross Kenyon monologues about the 2025 Salary Survey from the folks at CDRjobs (which you should go fill out right now!), and shares some lessons he learned about designing HR policies the hard way and from experienced colleagues. The main lesson is: you're never designing a policy for just one case. That's just the first precedent that will determine how current and future employees try to make sense of a companys policies. Sometimes what can be fair for one can be unfair to many, and vice versa. Wisdom is knowing the difference, and wisdom unfortunately isn't neatly fit upon a bumper sticker. Anyways, get ready for a thinking show with some anecdotes and a clear call to action! This Episode's Sponsors ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Lisett Luik from Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Become a sponsor by emailing carbon.removal.strategies[at]gmail.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Descript's transcripting and podcast editing service⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Riverside to record your podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Sign up for the 9Zero climate coworking space with my referral code⁠⁠ Resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠ CDRjobs 2024 CDRjobs Salary Report 2025 CDRjobs Salary Survey

The Carbon Removal XPRIZE has been a major focal point of the CDR industry for years. And Mati Carbon just won the $50M Grand Prize. How did they do it, and how did their surprising and counterintuitive approach to enhanced rock weathering win over so many other contestants? Shantanu Agarwal is the Founder and CEO of Mati Carbon, and he's on the show today to discuss how the various novel ways they went to market against the advice of others all added up to being an XPRIZE winner. Sometimes being mission-driven means breaking all of the other rules! This Episode's Sponsors ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Lisett Luik from Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Become a sponsor by emailing carbon.removal.strategies[at]gmail.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Descript's transcripting and podcast editing service⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Riverside to record your podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Sign up for the 9Zero climate coworking space with my referral code⁠ Resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠ Mati's website Email Mati: contact@mati.earth Carbon Removal XPRIZE

Everyone thinks of national and international governments leading or failing on climate change. But what about cities and smaller political entities? How can they lead on climate and carbon removal when larger entities may be focused elsewhere? Since carbon removal infrastructure is likely to end up at least partially within urban or periurban environments, how can we prepare ourselves and our policies for such a near-term future? To answer these and so many more questions, Christiaan Gevers Deynoot, the Founder and Program Lead of the City CDR Initiative joins host Ross Kenyon (who also serves as a Strategic Advisor, Communications for the City CDR Initiative.) This becomes a discussion about the big questions of political order, whether we prefer bottom-up experimentation and ferment or top-down legibility and scale, and to what degree the agony and the ecstasy of central planning may be present for CDR at the municipal level. This show gets highly philosophical and highly practical, which is a terrific combination when one can get it! This Episode's Sponsors ⁠⁠⁠ClimeFi⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Lisett Luik from Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Become a sponsor by emailing carbon.removal.strategies[at]gmail.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Descript's transcripting and podcast editing service⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Riverside to record your podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Sign up for the 9Zero climate coworking space with my referral code⁠ Resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠ City CDR Initiative on Linkedin The Federalist Papers Napoleonic Code James C. Scott's Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed Haussmann's renovation of Paris

Carbon removal isn't that old. So for someone who's been involved in it for almost fifteen years... that's an elder. And today he's bringing the wisdom he earned the hard way. Dave Addison is formerly the Virgin Earth Challenge Manager, an effort he began working on in 2010. That's about six years before I had even heard of CDR, so a long time indeed! Last year, Dave started Planetary Practitioners, a consultancy founded on a long-run vision of helping much more of humankind access decent work in net-positive industries. You can read his writing and keep up with his work here. One pattern you might notice in shows is that many of the lessons aren't merely about commercial strategy or TRL or unit economics. Much of the best advice is how to walk upon the Earth in a way that shows you belong here. So today, it's more emotional than average. For those of you who want or need such an experience, it is here for you, and I hope you enjoy this conversation with my good friend, Dave. This Episode's Sponsor ⁠⁠ClimeFi⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Lisett Luik from Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Become a sponsor by emailing carbon.removal.strategies[at]gmail.com ⁠⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Descript's transcripting and podcast editing service⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Riverside to record your podcasts⁠⁠⁠ Sign up for the 9Zero climate coworking space with my referral code Resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠ "Keep Going", from Dave's Substack for Planetary Practitioners Virgin Earth Challenge Longitude rewards system Carl Sagan's Cosmos: A Personal Voyage David Grinspoon's Earth in Human Hands: Shaping Our Planet's Future The Telepathy Tapes Charles C. Mann's The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow's World "It's Just a Ride" by Bill Hicks "The Darmine Doggy Door" from I Think You Should Leave Charlie Chaplin's speech from The Great Dictator Nathan Fielder'sThe Rehearsal

Should every dollar spent in carbon removal be maximally catalytic? Or is it okay to try to get a really good deal for your net-zero target? What even is this industry for?! Joining the show today—somehow for the first time ever—is Robert Höglund, a long-time CDR-watcher and writer; Co-Founder of the carbon removal's data repository-of-record, CDR.fyi, and the Head of CDR at Milkywire. Robert endures a barrage of questions about how his thinking on carbon removal has changed over the years, and him and host Ross Kenyon try to ferret out what it actually means to be catalytic. Is carbon accounting just for knuckleheads? The truth... may surprise you. This Episode's Sponsor ⁠ClimeFi⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Lisett Luik from Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Become a sponsor by emailing carbon.removal.strategies[at]gmail.com ⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Descript's transcripting and podcast editing service⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Use this affiliate link to use Riverside to record your podcasts⁠⁠ Resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠ Robert Höglund on LinkedIn Robert Höglund's website for his advisory work Robert Höglund's many articles CDR.fyi Milkywire 348: Is a Lack of Open Science Holding Carbon Removal Back?—w/ Freya Chay & Tyler Kukla of CDRXIV & CarbonPlan 333: Coproduction & Additionality: How Do We Draw the Line for Carbon Removal?—w/ Grant Faber, Carbon-Based Consulting The Dark Knight ferry scene

Everyone's focused on carbon credit offtakes and Voluntary Carbon Market purchases, but the compliance markets represent the vast majority of carbon assets in circulation. How do these markets work, and how might carbon removal interact with them in the future? Mike Azlen is the CEO and CIO of Carbon Cap Management LLP, a firm which trades within various compliance markets. We discuss why private traders like his company can help price discovery in compliance markets, and address some common criticisms of market-based approaches to climate change (both VCM and compliance markets.) Carbon removal is going to figure into various compliance markets in the future, but how exactly will that work? Might that be the demand boost that carbon removal needs to scale? There is also bonus content from this episode about some of Mike's observations about VCM failures. It will be released on Saturday, May 24th. Become a paid subscriber to access it when it is published! This Episode's Sponsor ClimeFi ⁠⁠⁠⁠Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Lisett Luik from Arbonics⁠⁠⁠⁠ Become a sponsor by emailing carbon.removal.strategies[at]gmail.com ⁠Use this affiliate link to use Descript's transcripting and podcast editing service⁠ ⁠Use this affiliate link to use Riverside to record your podcasts⁠ Resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠ Carbon Cap Management LLP Carbon Cap's Resource Library

Seemingly everyone in carbon removal says they want more data transparency and the sharing of scientific results. Why isn't open science more present, and how can we get more of it? Could a pre-print server for CDR be part of the solution? Today is the official launch of CDRXIV ("cee-dee-archive"), a new initiative from CarbonPlan that aims to spur scientific conversations within the carbon removal community. On this episode, Freya Chay (the CDR Program Lead at CarbonPlan and a Member of the Advisory Board to CDRXIV) and Tyler Kukla (a CDR Research Scientist at CarbonPlan and the Content Manager for CDRXIV) are on the show to explain how pre-print servers drive progress in other scientific fields, why CDR needs one, and how it may change our industry. If you'd like to submit data and/or a paper for publication to CDRXIV, please email hello@cdrxiv.org, or visit their submission portal here. This Episode's Sponsor ⁠⁠⁠Arbonics⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Lisett Luik from Arbonics⁠⁠⁠ Become a sponsor by emailing carbon.removal.strategies[at]gmail.com Use this affiliate link to use Descript's transcripting and podcast editing service Use this affiliate link to use Riverside to record your podcasts Resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠ CarbonPlan CDRXIV Submit research to CDRXIV 335: How Nori Created a Direct Air Capture+Storage Methodology: A Case Study—w/ Radhika Moolgavkar & Rick Berg

Carbon removal only has a few exits. Today’s guest was involved in two of them, and he’s bringing his lessons. Jim McDermott is the founder and CEO of Rusheen Capital Management, LLC, an investment firm that makes a few early-stage bets and works with companies much more closely than most investors do. He's had a long and storied career in energy and as the founder and CEO of Stamps.com. Jim shares his lessons from exiting 1PointFive and Carbon Engineering to Occidental Petroleum (who also just bought Holocene, another direct air capture company). He lays out his case for alternatives to the classical venture approach, and proposes a new philanthropic model he believes has a chance of filling in carbon removal’s (in)famous demand gap. Listen in to lessons for entrepreneurs during tough times and Jim's predictions for direct air capture and the carbon removal sector as a whole. This Episode's Sponsor ⁠⁠Arbonics⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Lisett Luik from Arbonics⁠⁠ Resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠ Rusheen Capital Management, LLC 1PointFive Carbon Engineering Occidental Petroleum Holocene "Why Oxy’s Acquisition Of Holocene Signals A Maturing Carbon Removal Industry" at Forbes, by Phil de Luna

In carbon removal, landing a major offtake agreement—like Microsoft’s purchase of 44,000 credits from Carba—is often seen as the holy grail. But what happens next? How does the money flow, and can debt financing bridge the gap between signature and scale? In this episode of Reversing Climate Change, host Ross Kenyon unpacks the deal between Microsoft and Carba, a waste-to-value biochar company turning landfill-bound biomass in Minnesota into durable carbon removal. With credits to be delivered over five years, Carba needed capital to ramp up production. Enter Structure Climate, which is financing the deal to help Carba meet its commitments—showcasing a compelling model for how debt finance can unlock climate impact. Guests Andrew Jones, CEO and Cofounder of Carba, and Matt Schmitt, Founder and CEO of Structure Climate (where Ross serves as an advisor), walk us through the mechanics of the deal, the role of debt vs. equity, and what this means for the future of carbon removal finance. Resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠ "Carba Announces 5-Year Carbon Removal Credit Purchase Agreement with Microsoft" announcement Structure Climate Carba Microsoft's carbon removal program

Fair warning: this episode spoils a lot of (older) media. Antiheroes make for great television. But why are we obsessed with them? Why are they in nearly all prestige dramas? Is this a result of our cultural beliefs, or is it (re)producing a culture of cynical realism? What impacts might it have for politics and climate change? This ascendancy of the antihero is a trend I've been watching (and often enjoying) since my teen years. Shows like The Sopranos helped bring television to its lofty artistic status, but it did so by confusing the natural empathy that good storytelling generates. The longer one watches shows like The Sopranos, the more one ends up rooting for bad guys to be successful. In a world that is ever more mediated by media, could a similar trend be happening in politics? Today's show is an attempt to make sense of the antihero through a number of prestige dramas, and look for some ways of telling stories that don't lead us into the abyss of constant moral ambiguity. Today we're going to talk about hope, reclaiming moral authority, and why it's cool to believe in things. I hope you'll join me in that ambition. N.B. There is some sort of recording hiccup when I'm discussing The Last of Us. For some reason it cut out when I was saying, "They attack living humans, and then those humans reanimate into being undead in some mycological way that's pretty disgusting." This Episode's Sponsors ⁠⁠Offstream⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Arbonics⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Lisett Luik from Arbonics⁠⁠ Email me to sponsor at carbon.removal.strategies [at] gmail.com. Resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠ "The judge speaks in the name of justice; the priest speaks in the name of pity, which is nothing but a more lofty justice." - Victor Hugo, Les Misérables "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." - Matthew 18:21-22, KJV 'Breaking Bad's Vince Gilligan Says We Need More Good Guys on Screen as Bad Guys Have “Taken Over the World” article on MSN The Sopranos (here's a clip where Anthony Jr. steals sacramental wine from the church and the shot lingers for a few extra seconds on St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes—perfection) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on Wikipedia "Antihero" article on TVTropes (my favorite repository of writings on archetypes and common storytelling devices) Littlefinger Tells Varys That Chaos Is A Ladder | Game of Thrones | HBO Breaking Bad Ted Lasso The Last of Us The scene between Michael and Kay in The Godfather "Default to Good" article on TVTropes (the unnamed archetype of "the redeemed rogue." I'm glad it already had a name! It deserved one!) The Act of Killing The All We Can Save Project What If We Get It Right? by Dr. Ayana Johnson

It's a jarring phrase. There's an even more jarring version of it in this episode. You've been warned. Economists are well-known for gnomic sentences that can sound cruel. For some, that's one of the job's many perks. But that doesn't mean that there isn't some truth in representing decisions as trade-offs. Today is a bonus monologue episode where I am going to unpack this phrase (and its nastier cousin) and explain what it has to teach the carbon removal industry as it grapples with the tension between scale and quality. This Episode's Sponsors ⁠Offstream⁠ ⁠Arbonics⁠ ⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Lisett Luik from Arbonics⁠ Resources ⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠ "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch" Wikipedia page ⁠Follow the Reversing Climate Change podcast on LinkedIn

You should know about my friend Heidi Lim. She's a leading voice of carbon removal on TikTok. She's been making short-form content for ages but today's show is her first foray into long-form. I have the honor of being her first guest and co-releasing the episode. It is my sincere honor to help Heidi launch her new content on YouTube! We get real in this show, talking about the difficult and sometimes unsung work of climate communications, why our world feels so screwed up, and the black hole of tech jobs that suck so much talent into its brain drain. Best wishes, Heidi! So glad you're now doing this. Count me as a big fan! This Episode's Sponsors ⁠Offstream⁠ ⁠Arbonics⁠ ⁠Listen to the RCC episode with Lisett Luik from Arbonics⁠ Resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠⁠ Heidi's TikTok The full video on Heidi's YouTube channel 329: The "Faustian Bargain" in Climate Rhetoric: Goethe's Faust and Modern Occultism—w/ Daniel Backer, author 326: Confronting Our Shadow: Jung, The Vietnam War, & Climate Change—w/ Karl Marlantes, author Follow the Reversing Climate Change podcast on LinkedIn Follow Carbon Removal Memes on LinkedIn "And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." - Matthew 5:30, KJV

If only there were a podcast that broke down all of the ways climate professionals broke into their industry... Michael Gold is a communications expert and consultant at Word Clouds Consulting and the host of the new podcast, Climate Swings. This show traces guests' stories and explains how they landed a job working on one of humanity's most significant problem sets. Check out the episode of Climate Swings I did with Michael retelling my odyssey into climate work here! Be sure to subscribe to his show, give it a great rating and review, and send it to a friend trying to come join us. Also, a special thank you to 9Zero for serendipitously facilitating our connection and to Terra.do for helping Michael do what he does! Resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠ "From PhD Dropout to Carbon Removal Comedian", the episode of Climate Swings I did with Michael ⁠⁠⁠Follow the Reversing Climate Change podcast on LinkedIn⁠

Sometimes, we skip right over the life stories of guests. Othertimes, it's everything. Today, it's everything. Returning to the show after several years is Carbon180's Executive Director, Erin Burns. Erin grew up in a coal mining family in West Virginia, got her start in Joe Manchin's Senate office, and has had a long and impactful career in carbon removal. Today, Erin (re)explains how the budgeting process works in the United States federal government and how the appropriations process intersects with it. What is the difference, and where can voters get involved? This is truly an improvised masterclass in civics education. Listen up for what you missed in high school, and how it will impact the future of carbon removal. This Episode's Sponsors Offstream Arbonics Listen to the RCC episode with Lisett Luik from Arbonics Resources ⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a paid subscriber of Reversing Climate Change⁠⁠⁠ Carbon180 Scrip Company town "The Appropriations Process: A Brief Overview", a CRS Product Carbon180's Carbon Removal Funding Tracker "The Ghost of Tom Joad" by Bruce Springsteen "Which Side Are You On?" by Pete Seeger "There is Power in a Union" by Utah Phillips (originally by Joe Hill) Harlan County, U.S.A.