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 Previte
• Producer Ben Weaver-Hincks