The Carbon Removal Show

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Apr 2026

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The Carbon Removal Show is the world's leading in-depth podcast on carbon removal. We combine hours of research and interviews with the world’s leading experts to explore the latest developments in carbon removal technology and policy in an easy to digest and engaging podcast format. Our narrative driven, story-focused episodes are enjoyed by both experts in the field and climate-curious individuals wanting to learn more about this increasingly widespread topic. The problem of carbon emissions is clear - the solution, however, is not. Our succinct, level-headed and impartial approach to carbon removal gives our listeners the facts and the tools they need to make sense of, and take action on, how we as humanity can sustainably remove carbon from the atmosphere. To find out more, head to https://thecarbonremovalshow.com/

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April 29, 2026Episode 1044 min

S4 #10 | CDR Buyers Deep Dive - Part 3: The Future of Buying (in a post-Microsoft world?)

In the final episode of our CDR Buyers Deep Dive, Tom and Emily ask what needs to change if carbon removal buying is going to move from early adopters to something much bigger. What would make buying easier, less risky, more attractive, and more scalable? And what happens when the market’s biggest buyer suddenly causes a wobble? In this episode: 🔎 Trust Me, I’m Infrastructure: Buyers need confidence that what they’re buying is real, durable, verified and defensible. We hear why standards, MRV, insurance, registries and credible intermediaries are much more than just boring plumbing. 🧾 Making CDR Make Sense: It’s not enough for the system to be robust. It also has to make sense to people who don’t spend all day reading carbon removal procurement documents for fun. (No shame to those who do.) 🛡️ Risky Business: We explore how insurance can help unlock finance, reassure buyers and support developers before things go wrong. Reminder: we’re all on the same team here. 📣 Tell Better Stories, Please: We’ve all heard it. Carbon removal often gets explained in climate science language. But CFOs, procurement teams and senior leadership may just need a different story. 🏗️ The Supply Problem: Even if more buyers arrive, there still need to be enough projects to buy from. We learn why early capital, patient funding and policy signals are essential if supply is going to grow. And grow it must. 🧊 The Microsoft Wobble: With reports (and some viral LinkedIn posts) that Microsoft has paused new CDR purchases, we unpack what this means. Is it a market crisis, or a reminder that Microsoft’s buying behaviour was always highly unusual? 👥 Featuring Guest insights from: Leila Toplic (formerly of Carbonfuture)Bee Hui Yeh (Patch)Ibrahim Sarwar (Artio)Caroline Corbett-Thompson (Wise)Adam Fraser (Terraset)Alexander Farsan (Klarna)Tank Chen (CDR.fyi)Ben Wynn (Glad) Hosts: Tom Previte and Emily Swaddle Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks Podcast Coordinator: Ellie Morris

April 15, 2026Episode 946 min

S4 #9 | CDR Buyers Deep Dive - Part 2: Ready, Set, Buy!

Get in loser, we’re going shopping. In part two of our buyers deep dive, Tom and Emily move from motivation to mechanics. Because deciding to buy carbon removal is only the beginning. The real challenge is everything that comes next. In this episode: 🏗️ Buying CDR Is Not Exactly A Trip To The Shops: Tom and Emily step inside the deal room to ask what buying carbon removal actually involves, and why the process still looks different from buyer to buyer. 🤝 Direct, Marketplace, Or Somewhere In Between?: We explore the major routes into the market, and how each path shifts who carries the burden of due diligence, education, risk, and relationship management. 📚 A Tiny Language Check-In: Offtakes. Pre-purchases. Payment on delivery. Emily makes sure we are all still speaking the same language. 💥 Buy Now, Pay Earlier: We look at catalytic buying, and why paying early can matter as much as buying at all. For early-stage suppliers, pre-purchases can unlock cash flow, credibility, and further finance. But for buyers, they also mean taking on very real delivery and technology risk. 💸 Money, Money, Money: Eventually, every lofty climate intention runs into the same question: which budget line is paying for this? We explore the internal mechanics of getting CDR through procurement, finance, legal, and contract systems that were not really designed with carbon removal in mind. 🧾 Internal Carbon Pricing, Revenue Shares, And Other Ways To Fund The Madness: Klarna explains its internal carbon fee model. Wise explains why it ties climate finance to revenue. The wider point: there is still no single standard approach, but serious buyers are finding ways to make climate spending durable. 😵‍💫 Why It Still Feels So Higgledy-Piggledy: Buyers, suppliers, and intermediaries are all building the path as they walk it, and that friction has consequences for who enters the market, and who gets left waiting for capital. 👥 Featuring Guest insights from: Paolo Piffaretti (ClimeFi)Bee Hui Yeh (Patch)Brendan Molony (Docusign)Caroline Corbett-Thompson (Wise)Adam Fraser (Terraset)Ibrahim Sarwar (Artio)Alexander Farsan (Klarna) Hosts: Tom Previte and Emily Swaddle Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks Podcast Coordinator: Ellie Morris

April 2, 2026Episode 840 min

S4 #8 | CDR Buyers Deep Dive - Part 1: Why The £$€¥ is Anyone Buying This?

In the first part of our buyers deep dive, Tom and Emily start with a deceptively simple question: why is anyone buying carbon removal at all? In a market with no universal mandate, high prices, and a dash of reputational risk, the real surprise is not that buying is hard. It’s that any company manages to do it in the first place. In this episode: 💸 Why Buying CDR Can Look Completely Irrational: From a CFO’s perspective, carbon removal can look expensive, risky, hard to explain, and suspiciously like something that arrived in their inbox before the budget meeting. So what gets a purchase over the line? 🌱 Belief, Conviction, and Backing the Market Early: For some buyers, the motivation starts with a simple premise: carbon removal will be necessary, so the industry needs support now. 🏢 From Climate Values to Corporate Strategy: Conviction matters, but no market scales on vibes alone. We explore how CDR gets translated from ‘the planet needs this’ into something that can survive contact with a spreadsheet and at least one sceptical colleague from finance. ⏳ Buying Early as a Competitive Advantage: What if carbon removal is not just a climate gesture, but a strategic hedge? We unpack the argument that early buyers are not simply purchasing tonnes for today, but locking in future relationships, terms, and access to supply before the market tightens. ⚖️ Responsibility, Risk, and the Long-Term Licence to Operate: As climate regulation evolves, investors pay closer attention, and supply chain pressures grow, will carbon removal start to look less like a nice-to-have and more like part of how some businesses are preparing for the future? 🔀 Putting It All Together: No one wakes up one morning, points at a carbon removal contract, and says: yes, this alone will save the quarter. This episode traces the messy mix of motives that gets a purchase over the line. 👥 Featuring Guest insights from: Alexander Farsan (Klarna)Adam Fraser (Terraset)Caroline Corbett-Thompson (Wise)Paolo Piffaretti (ClimeFi)Leila Toplic (formerly of Carbonfuture) Hosts: Tom Previte and Emily Swaddle Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks

December 18, 2025Episode 71 hr 2 min

S4 #7 | Public Perceptions Deep Dive - Part 3: Telling Better CDR Stories

In this final episode of our public perceptions mini-series, Tom and Emily ask a deceptively simple question: what would a better conversation about carbon removal actually look like? One that can hold urgency without hype, complexity without alienation, and honesty without infighting. In this episode: 🧠 Why Stories Matter More Than Stats: Carbon removal isn’t short on data, but data alone doesn’t move people. We explore why stories linger longer than numbers, and how storytelling can humanise CDR without dumbing it down. 🌍 Who Is “The Public”, Really?: We remember that audiences are plural, contextual, and deeply shaped by geography, culture, and lived experience. One message will never fit all. ⚖️ When Internal Debates Spill Outside: Healthy disagreement is essential, but public mud-slinging over durability, methods, and perfection can confuse buyers, journalists, and newcomers. Where’s the line between rigour and self-sabotage? 😅 Humour, Humanity, and Letting the Mask Slip: We hear the case that humour, vulnerability, and emotional honesty are under-used tools in climate communication. From memes to podcasts, cultural work is not a nice-to-have, it’s infrastructure. 🎨 Imagining Futures: We consider how the arts can open up new ways of engaging with carbon removal. 🔀 Simplicity vs Complexity: How do we communicate urgency and necessity while staying honest about uncertainty and evolution? The challenge isn’t choosing one, but knowing which to lead with, and when. 🏢 From Climate Concept to Business Reality: What does this all mean for conversations with businesses? We consider how narratives must shift when speaking to buyers, CFOs, and decision-makers, without losing trust. 👥 Featuring Guest insights from: Shilpika Gautam (Opna) Ross Kenyon (Reversing Climate Change) Selina Wagner Leila Toplic (Carbonfuture) Hosts: Tom Previte and Emily Swaddle Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks

December 3, 2025Episode 651 min

S4 #6 | Public Perceptions Deep Dive - Part 2: Myths, Misconceptions and Communication Misfires

In this second instalment of our miniseries on public perceptions of carbon removal, Tom and Emily dig into the roots of scepticism: where the hostility comes from, which fears are justified, and where misinformation takes hold. This episode explores why trust is hard-won - and so critical to get right. In this episode: 🧠 Fearing the New: From 19th-century electricity panics to GMOs and vaccines, we explore why novel technologies attract suspicion - and why CDR is no exception. 🌿 Nature, Identity, and Emotional Attachments: Public discomfort with “engineered” climate solutions isn’t irrational - it’s rooted in deep cultural and ecological values. We explore how biodiversity, land use, farming livelihoods, and spiritual relationships to place shape perceptions far more than technical risk assessments. 🏭 The Long Fossil Fuel Shadow: Why do so many people see carbon removal as Big Oil’s loophole? The team unpacks the long legacy of CCS, the role of energy majors in early DAC investments, and the powerful idea that “polluters should pay” - even though implementation is still murky. 📉 Moral Hazard, Greenwashing… or Misunderstanding?: Does buying or investing in CDR slow actual emissions cuts? The team pick apart the numbers, the caveats, and the narratives that refuse to die. 🌊 St Ives - When CDR Hits the Shoreline: We learn about a project that spiralled amid distrust and poor communication, and that illustrates why transparency and timing matter more than any technical spec sheet. 💬 The Myths We Tell Ourselves: Gigaton fantasies, $100-per-tonne illusions, and over-confidence that the “best technology” will eventually win. Which internal industry narratives are warping expectations, eroding credibility, and setting up the industry for disappointment? Learn More 🔗 Explore the St Ives community campaign - Read resources, statements and updates from the local activists who opposed the marine alkalinity trial in Cornwall. 🔬 Dive into the CO₂RE research on the St Ives case - A detailed review of what happened, why public trust broke down, and what the trial reveals about the social dimensions of marine CDR. 👥 Featuring Guest insights from: Ingrid Sundvor (Carbon Balance Initiative)Dr. Elspeth Spence (Cardiff University)Dr. Rob Bellamy (University of Manchester)Sebastian Manhart (Carbonfuture) Hosts: Tom Previte and Emily Swaddle Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks

November 19, 2025Episode 557 min

S4 #5 | Public Perceptions Deep Dive - Part 1: What Publics Really Think of CDR

Tom and Emily kick off a brand-new three-part miniseries on how people understand (and misunderstand) carbon removal - and what that means for the future of the sector. From the words we choose to the baggage they carry, from early “sci-fi” scepticism to today’s governance debates, this episode unpacks why public perceptions aren’t a side issue: they’re central to whether CDR can scale at all. In this episode: 🧠 Low Awareness, High Stakes: We look at why knowledge of CDR remains tiny - and yet how support rises sharply once people actually learn what it is. 📜 Early CDR Was… Science Fiction: Back in the noughties, carbon removal felt like aviation before the Wright brothers. But have we caught up? 🗣️ The Language Trap: “Ocean acidification”, “nature-based”, “engineered”: the words we choose shape the reactions we get. We hear why analogies can mislead, why metaphors can create false binaries, and why the “natural = good” instinct is more complicated than it looks. 🌏 When Context Changes Everything: From smallholders in Malaysia to farmers in Cornwall, public perceptions aren’t static - they’re contextual. 🏛️ Governance Isn’t Background Noise: We learn that CDR isn’t just hardware. Change the governance model, and you change the public response. People don’t just ask “what is CDR?”; they ask “who’s in charge?” 🔍 Before We Scale, We Need Trust: Early impressions matter. And in a landscape primed for misinformation and polarisation, how we communicate now will shape the governance, justice, and legitimacy of CDR for decades to come. 👥 Featuring Guest insights from: Dave Addison Ingrid Sundvor (Carbon Balance Initiative) Dr. Elspeth Spence (Cardiff University) Dr. Rob Bellamy (University of Manchester) Hosts: Tom Previte and Emily Swaddle Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks

May 26, 2025Episode 41 hr 3 min

S4 #4 | CDR Policy Deep Dive - Part 3: The Road Ahead

In this final instalment of our three-part policy miniseries, Tom and Emily look to the future of carbon removal policy: who’s shaping it, what’s getting in the way, and what else can Emily see in her crystal ball? In this episode: 🏗️ Building the Future Without a Manual: We meet a company navigating what it means to innovate when the rulebook hasn’t been written yet (and may be printed in two jurisdictions at once). 🎯 How CDR Is Getting Heard: Industry lobbying isn’t just for big corporates - our startup ecosystem can also get involved. But we learn than misperceptions around CDR (it’s not CCS!) are still widespread among policymakers. 💡 Voluntary Policy Is Still Policy: We explore the de facto power of the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which influences climate action across thousands of the world's biggest companies - despite being entirely voluntary. But will its guidance on removals give the sector the boost it needs? 🌍 Watch Out for the Global South: We all know that the future of CDR isn’t just in Europe and North America. But how can policy help build benefit-sharing frameworks, bring legal clarity, and drive investment confidence around the world? 🏙️ Think Global, Act Local: While attention is often on the big-hitters, are local initiatives quietly shaping the next wave of CDR? Bonus: you too can be a policy influencer without wearing a tie. 🧵 Now It’s Your Turn: After 15+ hours of interviews and more acronyms than we can legally fit on this page, we reflect on the biggest takeaways from this miniseries - complexity, possibility, and the role each of us has to play in shaping what comes next. 👥 Featuring: Guest insights from Oliver Grogono (Standard Gas Technologies)Nikolaus Wohlgemuth (Carbonfuture)Chris Sherwood, Elisabeth Harding and Lambrini Margariti (Negative Emissions Platform)Robert Höglund (Milkywire)Shilpika Gautam (Opna)Omoloro Meshack (CAP-A)Christopher Neidl (OpenAir Collective)Christoph Beuttler (Carbon Gap) Hosts Emily Swaddle and Tom PreviteProducer Ben Weaver-Hincks

May 15, 2025Episode 358 min

S4 #3 | CDR Policy Deep Dive - Part 2: The Landscape Today

In the second of our three-part deep dive, we plunge into the murky, acronym-rich depths of carbon removal policy across the UN, the EU, the US and beyond - and we promise to come up for air, eventually. In this episode: 🧠 Acronyms and Initialisms Aplenty: Consider yourselves warned. This episode contains more letters than a game of Scrabble. Don't worry, it'll be quacking... sorry, cracking. 🌐 The UN – Going Global: We finally (finally!) get to grips with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement - the big hope for creating a global, compliance-grade carbon market. So, does it deserve its place as the darling of the CDR community? 🧱 The EU – Slow and Steady Wins The Race: We dissect Europe’s tripartite climate framework, learn what the CRCF stands for, and ponder the possibility of removals entering the ETS by 2031 (yes, we said 2031… pace yourselves.) 💵 The US – Land of the Free… Tax Credits: While the EU leans into regulation, the US has chosen financial incentives to scale engineered CDR… for now. (Content advisory: information likely to be outdated within minutes.) 🌏 Zooming Out: Switzerland is quietly blazing a trail. Japan is scaling up a national carbon market. India is laying the foundations. There’s a lot going on out there, if you’re willing to look. 🧩 Policy vs Reality: We explore how the right policy for the right place might be the secret to scaling CDR globally - and why no single blueprint might work for everyone. 👥 Featuring: Guest insights from Sebastian Manhart (Carbonfuture)Eve Tamme (Climate Principles)Elisabeth Harding (Negative Emissions Platform)Varsha Ramesh Walsh (Offstream)Shilpika Gautam (Opna)Sylvain Delerce (Carbon Gap) Hosts Emily Swaddle and Tom PreviteProducer Ben Weaver-Hincks

May 5, 2025Episode 21 hr 1 min

S4 #2 | CDR Policy Deep Dive - Part 1: From Kyoto to Carbon Removal

Welcome to the first in a Carbon Removal Show three-part policy miniseries! We’re diving into the bureaucratic spaghetti of CDR policy - what it is, why we need it, and why pretending it doesn’t exist is no longer an option. It’ll be fun – we promise. In this episode: 📜 Policy 101: What do we mean when we talk about carbon removal policy? Tom, Emily and their guests unpack the layers - from global frameworks to national targets, and the many policies themselves that can (hopefully) keep this show on the road. 🏛️ A Brief History of Climate Governance: We rewind all the way to the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement, to understand the context in which CDR policy is emerging. Turns out, carbon removal has technically been part of the discussion for some time - but it took a while to step out of the LULUCF shadows and into the limelight. 🛠️ The Goals of CDR Policy: Whether it’s support for scaling the industry or regulation for doing it right, we explore the many roles that policy can play in ensuring CDR does what it’s supposed to. Who should pay for it? How can we avoid unintended consequences? And is it too late to bribe policymakers with Emily’s banana bread? 🌍 It’s All Connected: We learn that CDR doesn’t happen in a vacuum – and that means CDR policy can’t either. It's entangled with everything from energy to land use to ocean governance. And yes, ocean-based CDR is complicated when 40% of the sea has no nation. 🍖 The Bony Meat Pie Metaphor™: How do NDCs, interim targets and policies work together to meet(/meat?) our climate goals? It’s all very clever, but not especially appetising. 🧪 Avoiding Déjà Vu: We ask what we can learn from previous climate and environmental policies – so we don’t spend the next decade reinventing the wheel, crashing it into a forest, and accidentally calling it carbon neutral. 👥 Featuring: Guest insights from Sebastian Manhart (Carbonfuture)Eve Tamme (Climate Principles)Christoph Beuttler (Carbon Gap)Wil Burns (Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal)Robert Höglund (Milkywire)Bojana Bajzelj (BeZero)Christopher Neidl (OpenAir Collective) Hosts Emily Swaddle and Tom PreviteProducer Ben Weaver-Hincks

April 9, 2025Episode 141 min

S4 #1 | Where are we in the CDR story and where are we going?

Welcome back to The Carbon Removal Show! We’re kicking off Season 4 with a view from the top - checking in on the state of the carbon removal industry here in the dizzying heights of 2025. In this episode: 🌍 Where are we now? Durable CDR purchases hit 8 million tonnes in 2024 (a 78% bump from 2023), but 64% of that was Microsoft flexing. Deliveries? Still catching up – and most of it’s biochar. 📉 Caveats, ahoy: Sales are booming, but actual removals are still lagging. The buyer pool is basically a tech giant party. 🚨 Bubble watch: Are we living in a beautifully optimistic carbon bubble? Is it about to pop? Will Tom’s optimism hat survive the bubble bath? We explore industry hype vs. hard truths, including the risks of undelivered credits and startup casualties. 📊 The vibe check: Emily’s on an emotional rollercoaster. Tom is backing the CDR horse. Ben’s beard is greyer. Collectively, we’re cautiously hopeful. 🛠️ What needs to happen?: Scaling isn’t just tech - it’s finance, policy, public understanding, and clear comms. We need to get the message out of the bubble and into the next layer of the onion. (Just… not into Emily’s bubble bath. Please.) 🚗 A history lesson you didn’t know you needed: Did you know the best-selling car in 1897 was electric? We could’ve been 100 years ahead… but markets are messy. 👥 Featuring: Guest insights from Robert Höglund and Sebastian ManhartHosts Emily Swaddle and Tom PreviteProducer Ben Weaver-Hincks 🔗 Links & Resources: CDR.fyi – The go-to source for up-to-date data on carbon removal purchases, deliveries, and market trends.CDRjobs – A live job board dedicated to carbon removal opportunities."Public perception of carbon dioxide removal technologies in the United States and the United Kingdom" – Emily Cox, Elspeth Spence and Nick Pidgeon, Nature Climate Change, 2020This episode of Freakonomics Radio, all about the history of electric vehicles. 🎧 Featured Podcasts & Voices Grounded: A Climate Startup Journey – Hosted by Tom Previte - a climate startup podcast for fans of this show.CDR Policy Scoop – Hosted by Sebastian Manhart & Eve Tamme - deep dives into CDR policy.Milkywire – Robert Höglund's organization supporting impactful climate and CDR initiatives.

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