Stay ConnectedReversing Climate Change is a podcast about carbon removal and climatetech that keeps wandering off into literature, history, philosophy, theology, and geopolitics on the theory that the technical and scientific questions stop making much sense without them. Hosted by Ross Kenyon, who did not go past a year of political philosophy PhD coursework and has visibly not let it go.
Paid subscriptions live on Substack @ https://rosskenyon.com.
© Carbon Removal Strategies LLC
Copyright: © Nori
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 technologies we need to reach net-zero by 2050.
Prior to joining Breakthrough, Jennifer served as VP of Sustainability, EVP of Corporate Development, and President of CarbonCure Technologies in her 12 years with the company.
On this bonus episode of Reversing Climate Change, Jennifer joins Siobhan and Asa to walk us through the journey of a Breakthrough Energy Fellows startup and describe how the program supports its teams in scaling up.
Jennifer discusses the three teams with female founders she works with directly and explains how to work through a high volume of applicants and find the right people for your climate tech startup.
Listen in for Jennifer’s insight on securing funding for a carbon removal startup and find out how you can be part of the prestigious Breakthrough Energy Fellows program.
Connect with Nori
Carbon Removal Memes on Instagram
Resources
Breakthrough Energy Fellows Program
Breakthrough Energy on LinkedIn
Jack Andreasen of Breakthrough Energy on Reversing Climate Change
Amazon’s $53M Fund for Female Climate Tech Founders
How to Pursue a Career in Carbon Removal on Reversing Climate Change
Resources
This episode's page on the web: https://www.rosskenyon.com/p/supporting-early-stage-climatetech-13e
Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change Substack: https://www.rosskenyon.com/subscribe
Books from the show, at Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/reversing-climate-change
My other show, Climate Workers Anonymous: https://www.climateworkersanonymous.com
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 on our sister podcast, Carbon Removal Newsroom.
On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, Chris joins Ross, Siobhan, and Asa to explain how regulations can prevent us from building climate infrastructure and explore the potential for bipartisan collaboration on permitting reform.
Chris discusses how permitting interacts with issues of eminent domain and describes what community engagement looks like in the permitting process.
Listen in for Chris’s insight on the regulatory barriers to realizing carbon removal at scale and learn how we might streamline the permitting process without weakening environmental standards.
Connect with Nori
Carbon Removal Memes on Instagram
Resources
American Conservation Coalition
Senator Manchin’s Permitting Reform Bill
National Environmental Policy Act
The California Environmental Quality Act'
‘The Top Five Legal Barriers to Carbon Capture and Sequestration in Texas’ in Forbes
Lil Nas X’s ‘I Will Avenge U Mr. Van Gogh’ Meme
Resources
This episode's page on the web: https://www.rosskenyon.com/p/permitting-reform-property-rights-520
Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change Substack: https://www.rosskenyon.com/subscribe
Books from the show, at Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/reversing-climate-change
My other show, Climate Workers Anonymous: https://www.climateworkersanonymous.com
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 and cohosts Alexsandra Guerra, Head of Demand, and Daren McKelvey, Head of Crypto Partnerships at Nori, to discuss the process grantees go through to win funding from Gitcoin.
Ben explains how his background in climate activism informs his work at Gitcoin and shares what he learned from researching blockchain-enabled climate solutions for the Ethereum Foundation.
Listen in for Ben’s insight on the growth of the overlap between climate and crypto and learn how your project can apply for Gitcoin’s next climate round.
Connect with Nori
Carbon Removal Memes on Instagram
Resources
Burn: Igniting a New Carbon Drawdown Economy to End the Climate Crisis by Albert Bates
Demeter
Resources
This episode's page on the web: https://www.rosskenyon.com/p/s3e29-funding-for-crypto-enabled-d84
Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change Substack: https://www.rosskenyon.com/subscribe
Books from the show, at Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/reversing-climate-change
My other show, Climate Workers Anonymous: https://www.climateworkersanonymous.com
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 way to finance climate solutions?
Dr. Marcius Extavour, PhD, is Chief Scientist and EVP of Energy and Climate at XPRIZE, a nonprofit that facilitates large-scale global competitions to crowdsource solutions to the world’s greatest challenges.
On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, Dr. Extavour joins Ross, Siobhan, and Asa to explore the current landscape of climatetech investment and explains why he wants to see more women and underrepresented minorities in the capital system.
Dr. Extavour discusses the carbon removal projects that are farthest along in terms of capitalization and describes the opportunities for traditional finance to fund climate solutions.
Listen in for Dr. Extavour’s insight on applying the spirit of collective action from crypto to the climate space and learn how you might participate in funding climate solutions.
Connect with Nori
Carbon Removal Memes on Instagram
Resources
Resources
This episode's page on the web: https://www.rosskenyon.com/p/alternatives-to-venture-capital-for-d5c
Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change Substack: https://www.rosskenyon.com/subscribe
Books from the show, at Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/reversing-climate-change
My other show, Climate Workers Anonymous: https://www.climateworkersanonymous.com
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 mutualism help us protect the ecosystems we depend on and find solutions to climate change?
Kristin Ohlson is an award-winning freelance journalist and author of The Soil Will Save Us: How Scientists, Farmers, and Foodies are Healing the Soil to Save the Planet. Her new release is called Sweet in Tooth and Claw: Stories of Generosity and Cooperation in the Natural World.
On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, Kristin joins Ross to explain why the study of mutualism in the evolution of nature has lagged, and challenge us to recognize and protect the cooperative relationships among organisms in our ecosystems.
Kristin shares some of her favorite stories from the book, describing how ranchers, scientists, and government leaders worked together to heal a degraded landscape in Eastern Nevada.
Listen in for Kristin’s insight on the growth of regenerative agriculture and learn how mutualism gives organisms superpowers as they work together to survive and thrive in extreme environments.
Connect with Nori
Carbon Removal Memes on Instagram
Resources
Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution by Peter Kropotkin
The Biology of Mutualism: Ecology and Evolution by Douglas H. Boucher
Mutualism by Judith L. Bronstein
Resources
This episode's page on the web: https://www.rosskenyon.com/p/s3e28-mutualism-cooperation-not-competition-622
Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change Substack: https://www.rosskenyon.com/subscribe
Books from the show, at Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/reversing-climate-change
My other show, Climate Workers Anonymous: https://www.climateworkersanonymous.com
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 sequester it underground.
On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, Peter joins Ross, Siobhan, and Asa to walk us through the process Peter’s team uses to produce bio-oil and weigh in on why he refers to it as ‘BBQ sauce’ in his pitch for Charm.
Peter explains why Charm developed its own measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) system and explores how much bio-feedstock is available for bio-oil production in the US and around the world.
Listen in to understand the big questions around IP in carbon removal and learn how Charm is turning biomass residue into bio-oil for use in carbon removal and other industrial applications like iron and steel.
Connect with Nori
Carbon Removal Memes on Instagram
Resources
Charm Industrial’s MRV Protocol
Charm Industrial’s Carbon Removal Registry
Carbon Removal Memes on Instagram
Resources
This episode's page on the web: https://www.rosskenyon.com/p/turning-biomass-into-bbq-sauce-for-84f
Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change Substack: https://www.rosskenyon.com/subscribe
Books from the show, at Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/reversing-climate-change
My other show, Climate Workers Anonymous: https://www.climateworkersanonymous.com
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, exactly? And how does Climate Industrialism create a virtuous cycle for companies building climate solutions and the cities where they choose to build?
Lyn and Sonam are the cocreators of Parachute, a research and storytelling project that shares climate solutions with local governments around the world to make our cities more beautiful, more livable, and more resilient.
On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, Lyn and Sonam join Ross to explore their new model of Climate Industrialism and explain why cities need to take the lead on climate action.
Lyn and Sonam discuss the history behind the regulations and permitting processes that slow industrial building and describe how cities can attract talent by welcoming climate industries.
Listen in to understand the pros and cons of startup cities and learn what municipalities can do to promote both climate change mitigation as well as adaption and resilience through Climate Industrialism.
Connect with Nori
Carbon Removal Memes on Instagram
Resources
Lyn & Sonam’s Piece on Climate Industrialism
UCLA Center for Healthy Climate Solutions
White House Accelerating Infrastructure Summit
The Network State: How to Start a New Country by Balaji Srinivasan
Resources
This episode's page on the web: https://www.rosskenyon.com/p/s3e27-climate-industrialism-aka-why-a3e
Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change Substack: https://www.rosskenyon.com/subscribe
Books from the show, at Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/reversing-climate-change
My other show, Climate Workers Anonymous: https://www.climateworkersanonymous.com
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 help a startup improve the economic performance of its climate tech and maximize its impact?
Grant Faber is Founder and President of Carbon-Based Consulting, a firm that offers techno-economic assessments, early-stage emissions accounting, and market research for startups, investors, and environmental nonprofits in the CDR and CCUS space.
On this bonus episode of Reversing Climate Change, Grant joins Ross, Siobhan, and Asa to explain why an understanding of economics is crucial in carbon removal and how a TEA helps us determine the cost per tonne of carbon removal.
Grant walks us through the concept of learning rates, discussing why different technologies have different learning rates, and how founders might apply these principles to reduce costs.
Listen in for insight on the potentially arbitrary nature of life cycle assessments and learn how Grant can help your organization accelerate the commercialization of carbon removal technology.
Connect with Nori
Carbon Removal Memes on Instagram
Resources
Global CO2 Initiative TEA Guidelines
‘Factors Affecting the Cost of Airplanes’ in the Journal of Aeronautical Sciences
‘Evaluating the Causes of Cost Reduction in Photovoltaic Modules’ in Energy Policy
Resources
This episode's page on the web: https://www.rosskenyon.com/p/techno-economic-assessments-of-carbon-ab9
Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change Substack: https://www.rosskenyon.com/subscribe
Books from the show, at Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/reversing-climate-change
My other show, Climate Workers Anonymous: https://www.climateworkersanonymous.com
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, an ag software company that is digitizing the infrastructure for grain.
On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, Dane joins Ross and Nori team members Laura Satkowski and Jada Dormaier, to explain how our partnership with Bushel makes it easy for farmers to practice carbon removal.
Dane shares Bushel’s efforts to standardize and connect the many digital applications available to farmers and describes how growers might use data to make decisions around implementing regenerative practices.
Listen in to understand the parallels between how grain is priced as a commodity and the NORI token and learn how farmers might be able to benefit from being part of the Nori-Bushel partnership.
Connect with Nori
Carbon Removal Memes on Instagram
Resources
Dane Braun on UNL’s FarmBits Podcast
Resources
This episode's page on the web: https://www.rosskenyon.com/p/s3e26-why-is-moving-grain-easier-809
Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change Substack: https://www.rosskenyon.com/subscribe
Books from the show, at Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/reversing-climate-change
My other show, Climate Workers Anonymous: https://www.climateworkersanonymous.com
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 for a road trip.
So, what can we do to make travel more environmentally friendly?
Christina Beckmann is the cocreator of Tomorrow’s Air, a collective for travelers and travel businesses to support the scale up of carbon removal technologies.
On this bonus episode of Reversing Climate Change, Christina joins Ross, Siobhan, and Asa to discuss the layers of responsibility for climate change and who should be held accountable among travel operators, airlines, governments, and individual travelers.
Christina explains what differentiates the adventure travel community from more “consumptive” travelers and how Tomorrow’s Air is educating both groups about carbon removal technologies.
Listen in for insight on reducing your emissions when you travel and learn how to help Tomorrow’s Air build a community of carbon-removing travelers.
Connect with Nori
Carbon Removal Memes on Instagram
Resources
The Adventure Travel Trade Association
Outside & ATTA Survey on Climate
McKinsey Skift Report on Net-Zero Travel
Carbon Offsets on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Resources
This episode's page on the web: https://www.rosskenyon.com/p/how-to-link-carbon-removal-to-travelw-75d
Subscribe to the Reversing Climate Change Substack: https://www.rosskenyon.com/subscribe
Books from the show, at Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/reversing-climate-change
My other show, Climate Workers Anonymous: https://www.climateworkersanonymous.com
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