S1 #6 | Utilisation and marketplaces: how to reimagine carbon

For carbon removal to thrive under capitalism, we need thriving carbon removal businesses. And thriving carbon removal businesses need an income - but who's paying? Can a service like this, operating for the good of humanity, really work in a world that revolves around money?

That's the crux of this week's episode.

Carbon marketplaces offer one model: buy and sell carbon on the open market in the form of credits. It sounds straightforward enough, until you realise that no two tonnes of carbon removed from the atmosphere are the same. Plus, doesn't this kind of system just give greenwashing companies a licence to pollute?

Utilisation of carbon, rather than storage, is another potential revenue generator. Take your captured carbon, pop it in your product and sell on at a healthy margin. We focus on concrete here (for good reason), though the possibilities really are endless. But beyond the wow factor, does it bring the climate benefits we need?

Many thanks to our excellent guests in this episode:

• Sophie Purdom
• Andrew Shebbeare
• Rob Niven
• Apoorv Sinha

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