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...
Oct 29, 2025•29 min•Season 1Ep. 44
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...
Oct 27, 2025•26 min•Season 1Ep. 43
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...
Oct 22, 2025•33 min•Season 1Ep. 42
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...
Oct 18, 2025•27 min•Season 1Ep. 41
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...
Oct 08, 2025•27 min•Season 1Ep. 40
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....
Oct 01, 2025•29 min•Season 1Ep. 39
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...
Sep 26, 2025•27 min•Season 1Ep. 38
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...
Sep 16, 2025•27 min•Season 1Ep. 37
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) ...
Sep 12, 2025•30 min•Season 1Ep. 36
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...
Sep 10, 2025•26 min•Season 1Ep. 35
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 ...
Aug 20, 2025•29 min•Season 1Ep. 34
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...
Aug 13, 2025•27 min•Season 1Ep. 33
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...
Aug 07, 2025•28 min•Season 1Ep. 32
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...
Jul 31, 2025•30 min•Season 1Ep. 31
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...
Jul 29, 2025•29 min•Season 1Ep. 30
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...
Jul 22, 2025•29 min•Season 1Ep. 29
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...
Jul 15, 2025•28 min•Season 1Ep. 28
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 ...
Jul 10, 2025•28 min•Season 1Ep. 27
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...
Jul 03, 2025•28 min•Season 1Ep. 26
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...
Jun 30, 2025•38 min•Season 1Ep. 25
One of the world's first regulations to fight corporate greenwashing is on the final stretch. Or is it? The final trilogue, the negotiations between the three EU institutions, was pushed back to June 23rd but was ultimately cancelled. A push by the German government and the conservative EPP group in Parliament has led the policy process off the rails, with the European Commission considering withdrawing its proposal. Critics of the GCD highlight the increased complexity and costs for industry, w...
Jun 26, 2025•29 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Should the VCM shape or follow government policy? The Voluntary Carbon Market is at a crossroads as governments ramp up climate ambition and explore carbon markets. What would a genuine alignment between VCM and government policy look like? What are the risks and opportunities? How can the VCM support both national and global net-zero goals? To help us dig into these questions and more, we’re thrilled to welcome a leading voice in carbon markets and climate policy, Alexia Kelly from High Tide Fo...
Jun 24, 2025•29 min•Season 1Ep. 23
The Paris Agreement's carbon markets could be worth up to $250 billion annually and reduce or remove gigatons of CO2. But how do we operationalise it? How can countries start trading durable removals under the Paris Agreement’s Article 6.2 mechanism? Norway and Switzerland have just agreed on the first durable removals transaction under this framework. For their pilots, planned to be executed pre-2030, they aim to transfer up to 10 Kt of BECCS from Norway and up to 1 Kt of mineralised CO2 from S...
Jun 22, 2025•27 min•Season 1Ep. 22
A European CDR Purchasing Programme for Permanent Carbon Removal? Sounds too good to be true? Well, it may become a reality soon. On May 21st, the European Commission held a dedicated workshop on “A Purchasing Programme for CRCF Permanent Carbon Removal Credits”. As stated in its own excellent pre-read, Europe will need to fund CDR with up to €6 billion by 2030 to achieve its indicative target of 5 Mt/year. But where should this money come from? How should a purchasing programme be designed? And...
May 28, 2025•27 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Many projects want to blend public funding with revenue from voluntary carbon markets as carbon removal scales up. Meanwhile, governments have different approaches to it. And sceptics keep questioning whether it makes sense in the first place - what about additionality, corresponding adjustments, and real climate impact? We’re excited to welcome Erik Rylander, the Head of CDR at Stockholm Exergi, to share his immense experience in innovative funding for their successful BECCS project. We will di...
May 25, 2025•26 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Against all odds, the Liberal Party just won the Canadian general elections. Mark Carney’s party explicitly campaigned to turn Canada into a global leader in carbon dioxide removal. Canada plans to do so by - among other things - extending its investment tax credit to 2035, supporting a broad range of CDR tech, and introducing dedicated CDR targets for 2035 and 2040. This all sounds incredibly promising. But will Canada be able to realise this ambition? No better person to answer this question t...
May 13, 2025•27 min•Season 1Ep. 19
It's out: the European Commission published a consultation to gather feedback on what the world's largest emission trading system - the EU ETS - should look like after 2031. For carbon removals, integration into the EU ETS represents one of the most promising paths to predictable demand at scale. Whether and how that will happen is still up for debate. A unique opportunity to get involved with such a crucial legislative process from the get-go. Join Eve Tamme and Sebastian Manhart for a punchy 3...
May 02, 2025•28 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Are we scrubbing the smokestacks and skies of a waste gas, or creating a valuable resource for a net-zero world? As carbon management technologies like CCS, CCU, DACCS, and BECCS advance, policymakers and markets are narrowing down on CO₂’s role. In this CDR Policy Scoop, we dive into: What happens if we treat CO₂ only as waste? What is the real potential for CO₂ to be commoditized? How does this debate shape business models, public acceptance, and climate impact? We’re thrilled to welcome sea...
Apr 28, 2025•27 min•Season 1Ep. 17
How can the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism help scale carbon dioxide removal? Designed to put a price on imported carbon and prevent leakage, but could it also act as a catalyst for scaling CDR? This CDR Scoop cuts through the noise to explore this critical link. We're digging deep to uncover the potential synergies and challenges. To ensure we cover all angles, we're thrilled to welcome leading CBAM expert Dan Maleski from Redshaw Advisors . Get ready for unparalleled insights from som...
Apr 15, 2025•28 min•Season 1Ep. 16
A fun, interactive, first-of-a-kind live debate with over 1000 attendees signed up. We picked two real heavyweights: DAC, the poster-child of CDR, with over 200 DAC companies founded to date. On the other hand, biochar, responsible for a whopping 84% of all durable CDR deliveries to date. In the DAC corner: Martin Freimüller is the Co-Founder and CEO of Octavia Carbon – the first DAC company in the Global South and fifth largest in the world. He moved his life to Kenya in 2021, upon realising it...
Apr 07, 2025•26 min•Season 1Ep. 15
