Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more
The year 2025 saw significant policy developments for carbon removal (CDR), characterized by both progress and limitations. While the EU made strides with its 2040 target, CRCF, and member state initiatives like the UK and Germany, the US experienced major setbacks in climate policy. Challenges also emerged in voluntary carbon markets and the failure of the Green Claims Directive, highlighting the need for clearer corporate incentives and robust international frameworks. Overall, 2025 laid crucial foundations for future CDR growth, despite a mixed landscape of successes and disappointments.
Hosts Eve Tamme and Sebastian Manhart interview leading carbon removal buyers, including Robert Höglund, Lamé Verre, Chris Minter, and Adina Braha-Honciuc, to understand their experiences and policy needs. Discussions cover the slow growth of new buyers, the need for government purchasing and near-term net-zero targets, the complexities of due diligence, and the critical demand for clearer regulatory frameworks and claims guidance. The episode reveals varied approaches from holistic ecosystem building to systematic procurement, all emphasizing the necessity of overcoming current market fragmentation and uncertainty to accelerate carbon removal.
Eve Tamme and Sebastian Manhart speak with Lambert Schneider about the EU's upcoming 2040 climate target and the role of carbon credits. The discussion critically compares the quality benchmarks of the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM) and the EU's domestic Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF), highlighting concerns about CRCF's lower standards and the need for consistent, high-quality criteria for all credits used towards EU targets. Lambert also questions whether international credits are being used to genuinely raise ambition or merely to lower costs.
Robert Höglund joins to discuss the EU's Carbon Removal Buyers' Club workshop, focusing on the evolution of the initiative and the Commission's use of "soft power" to boost demand. The conversation highlights significant challenges, including securing adequate funding, establishing regulatory clarity for carbon claims post-Green Claims Directive, and overcoming buyer fatigue. They also explore the balance between supporting EU industry and global climate ambition, alongside the critical need for official legitimization of carbon removals to drive market growth in the crucial next five years.
COP30 is behind us with two weeks of intense negotiations, pledges, and a full Action Agenda. But now comes the REAL question: Did any of it *actually* move the needle for CDR? From political signals, to a mix of announcements, to the outcomes of different negotiation tracks, what does COP30 mean for the future of carbon removal deployment and governance? To unpack it all, we’re thrilled to welcome back Christopher Neidl , Carbon Removal Lead with the Climate High-Level Champions . Chris was dee...
COP30 is in full swing, and carbon removal is drawing unprecedented attention. For the first time, the Global Carbon Dioxide Removal Initiative (CDR30) has launched a dedicated CDR Pavilion in the COP Blue Zone. Bringing together more than 60 organisations across the global CDR ecosystem, CDR30 represents a united community with a shared goal: to highlight CDR’s essential role in achieving global climate targets. But what impact has the pavilion had so far? How is it helping to mainstream CDR wi...
Eve Tamme and Sebastian Manhart discuss the new Net Zero Standards with Mai Bui, Director of Climate Science at Supercritical. They examine the critical distinctions between the SBTi and ISO's approaches to carbon removals, particularly concerning durability requirements and the role of nature-based solutions. The conversation covers the scientific defensibility of recent proposals, the potential for government adoption of these standards, and their overall impact on scaling carbon removal technologies and corporate net-zero commitments.
What a whirlwind it has been in Europe. Over the last few days, we have seen the Council of the EU and the European Parliament's ENVI Committee agree on their positions on the EU 2040 Climate Target negotiations. From huge amounts of international credits, to a clear mandate for CDR, to a range of vague clauses: there is lots to unpack. Meanwhile, Ursula von der Leyen travelled to COP30 with a 2035 NDC for the European Union. And, finally, the EU Commission held yet another Carbon Removals Exper...
It’s that time of year again - COP30 is just around the corner. This year in Belém, Brazil, CDR has stepped up its game and will have its first-ever CDR Pavilion in the blue zone. This was made possible by CDR30, the Global Carbon Dioxide Removal Initiative, consisting of a unified global CDR community of over 60 organisations across the ecosystem. Their mission: elevating CDR’s essential role in climate action at COP30. A physical presence and strong coalition are a signal that carbon removal i...
We all know that climate change is the greatest challenge of our generation, and for many of us, it’s our life’s work. If you’re like us, you spend most of your reading time on non-fiction - whether that’s endless reports, briefs, news, and feeds. We have a refreshing new way to digest some of the heaviest topics in this climate fight. The Carbon Paradox is a fictional book based on facts. Along the way, the characters meet 25 paradoxical issues, which cover the entire controversy from carbon cr...
The IMO just paused its carbon price: What’s next for shipping, and will aviation follow suit? Just months after the world celebrated the first-ever global carbon price for the maritime sector, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has now suspended it for one year. This came as a result of heavy pressure from the U.S., with smaller countries reportedly threatened with tariffs, sanctions, and even visa restrictions for UN staff. Shipping and aviation are two of the hardest to decarbonise...
CDR Policy Scoop is back with a deep dive into one of the most consequential CDR policy reviews to date: the Independent Review of Greenhouse Gas Removals, led by Dr Alan Whitehead and published on October 23rd 2025. Almost 200 pages packed with fascinating insights on the future of UK CDR policy. To unpack what this means, Sebastian Manhart and Eve Tamme are joined by Georgia Berry, CDR Programme Director at the Green Finance Institute and one of the UK’s leading voices on GGRs/CDR. Together th...
CDR Policy Scoop is proud to present the next SHOWDOWN in the first-ever live debate in a hybrid format — on stage and streamed live: Voluntary vs Compliance Markets. The race to scale carbon removal is on – but which market will get us there first? Voluntary buyers are moving billions, experimenting, and taking early risks. Compliance markets promise scale, rigour, and integration into national climate strategies. We are excited to be taking our debate live on stage at Carbon Unbound Europe. In...
What does the new Article 6.4 Standard on Non-Permanence and Reversals mean for carbon removal projects? It has just been adopted by the Supervisory Body after lengthy deliberations and a huge inflow of stakeholder comments. The new standard remains controversial. Some stakeholders welcome the adopted standard, given its improvements compared to the draft versions. Others highlight the negative impacts on the carbon markets due to pushing decisions on key elements (like the percentage of negligi...
The EU carbon removal purchasing programme and potential integration of removals into the ETS have generated plenty of buzz. Yet these could just be a first step in a longer policy sequence. Could a CDR Compliance System be the north star to aim for in the longer term? Carbon Gap has just unveiled its new report looking at how to drive long-term demand for permanent carbon removals across Europe. In it, they examine different options for a Removal Compliance System (RCS), looking at both traditi...
On 25 September, the European Commission convened its first Technical Workshop on Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) and Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) under the Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming framework (CRCF). This marks the formal beginning of the journey toward EU recognition of these technologies. The context is clear: DACCS, BECCS, and biochar methodologies are soon settled, but permanent removals need more arrows in their quiver. The Commission is now turning to the next set of methods....
The EU’s 2040 Climate Target debate is heating up. At stake: whether to allow international carbon credits at all - and if so, how many and what kind. The European Union is split: some push to ban credits outright, while others want to allow plenty and as early as 2031. The current 3% proposal would mean up to 400 Mt of international credits by 2040. Such a volume could literally ignite whole industries across numerous countries, with all the benefits that can bring to local communities. But the...
Achieving the EU’s aspirational 2030 target of 5 MtCO₂-e in permanent removals per year requires an €2.4–6.7 billion in investment. Fast forward to 2040, we’ll need to reach 75 Mt – or even as high as 280 Mt – according to Carbon Gap . The policy, funding, and market implications are enormous. A well-designed EU purchasing programme can have a significant impact on making it happen. Recently, the EU Commission released three (!) major reports charting the course for the forthcoming EU purchasing...
At the end of August, the UK government released over 500 pages of documentation on how it plans to finance the scale-up of removals. There is a lot to talk about: the UK has committed over £22B to CCUS (including CDR) over 25 years, of which £9.4B has already been allocated in the 2025 Spending Review. It has also recently released its vision for how to integrate CDR into the UK ETS, potentially as early as 2029 (ahead of the EU). Now it suggests 15-year carbon contracts for difference (CCfDs) ...
Carbon rating agencies have increasingly become an indispensable pillar of carbon market infrastructure. While originally created to solve deep-seated quality and integrity concerns in the voluntary carbon markets, they are now also playing a role in compliance markets. What really goes into rating carbon removal projects, and what are the expected future developments? With the ICVCM establishing Core Carbon Principles eligibility for some CDR methods, will project-based ratings still be necessa...
Scoop School is back in session. The second lesson: Who’s leading and who’s lagging in carbon removal (CDR) policy? Who’s getting it right, and who’s falling behind? What works in CDR policy design? Is it possible to replicate successes across borders? Yes, durable CDR policy is still in its early stages, but our in-depth looks at the UK, Switzerland, and Germany have proven there’s already a lot to discuss—and a lot others can learn from. Sebastian has been tracking these policy trends closely ...
It may still be summer, but the new series, “Scoop School”, is now in session. First lesson: Carbon Removal Accounting. Which is not the same as MRV, and the lesson will get to that. Countries are facing new and urgent questions regarding how to account for removals, whether it's within the context of the Paris Agreement’s Crediting Mechanism PACM, the EU’s CRCF, or incorporating removals into emission trading systems. All of this has a tangible impact on which carbon removal methods can be scal...
Europe’s forests and soils have been acting as an indispensable cushion for our climate targets, currently offsetting around 6% of the EU’s GHG emissions. But the LULUCF sink - the EU’s natural carbon safety net - has dropped by 30% compared to the previous decade. Recent projections highlight a crucial gap between the climate target and the current sink. Is Europe’s land carbon sink slipping away? What will it take to bring it back? Can smart and innovative policy design turn the tide on the EU...
The Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM, also known as the Article 6.4 mechanism) is going through another round of public consultations. One key document on the table is the draft standard on non-permanence/reversals, which has sparked a lot of questions. What are the options on the table? What does it mean for different types of carbon removal projects? How are the various documents up for public consultation via the Methodology Expert Panel and the PACM Supervisory Body connected? There...
We’ve covered a lot of CDR policy developments in Europe and across the pond in the United States. But, truth be told, the UK is a bit of a blind spot for us. The UK’s Net-Zero Strategy was one of the first to establish an engineered Greenhouse Gas Removal (GGR aka CDR) target. And only days before our scoop, the UK government has confirmed its plan to integrate removals into the UK ETS by 2029, with legislation targeted for 2028. Is the UK quietly and humbly leading the way in CDR? What will it...
Like it or not, the “like-for-like” debate in carbon removal isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Conversations around temporary versus durable, conventional versus novel removals are increasingly diverging. Should carbon markets foresee separate roles for these removal types, or strive for a common ground that makes all removals comparable? Is true compatibility even possible? Co-hosts Sebastian Manhart and Eve Tamme are delighted to welcome Gabrielle Walker, co-founder of Rethinking Removals and...
The first methodologies for permanent removals under the EU’s Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming Regulation are being finalised. The European Commission’s 8th Carbon Removal Expert Group meeting, held on 10 July, was dedicated to a draft delegated act on DACCS, BioCCS, and biochar. Does this draft piece of legislation do justice to the CDR methods under consideration? Or does it fall short, and the Commission consultants should be sent back to the drawing board? Join co-hosts Sebastian Manhart an...
Not one week passes without news of major developments coming out of Germany: earlier in the year, Europe’s biggest economy became the first country in the world to enshrine a net-zero target (2045) into its constitution. Following the recent election, the ruling coalition then included carbon removal in its coalition treaty. More recently, a line dedicated to CDR was added to the federal budget and rumour has it that large sums of funding could soon be allocated to this as early as 2026. Could ...
A day after the European Commission published its legislative proposal for the EU’s 2040 climate target, Eve Tamme and Sebastian Manhart sat down for a timely session to analyse the proposal. Although the expected 90% net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 (compared to 1990 levels) is the headline target, several key elements in the proposal have elicited strong reactions among stakeholders. And what does it all mean for carbon removal? The CDR Policy Scoop co-hosts cut through the no...
This gets to the core of the carbon market debate. Reductions, including avoidance credits, currently account for over 95% of credits in the VCM. Meanwhile, removal credits are rapidly gaining momentum, with $6.5B in purchases to date, outpacing the growth of all other credit types. In the Reductions corner, no less than Renat Heuberger, CEO at Terra Impact Ventures and Founder / former CEO at South Pole, who has been at the forefront of the VCM for nearly two decades. In the Removals corner, th...
