The carbon removal market could reach $400 billion to $1.6 trillion by 2050, according to McKinsey. But it’s got a long way to go. Right now the market is wild, unexplored territory filled with unproven technologies, murky cost curves, and a motley mix of price points and standards. The hope is that one day it becomes a standardized commodity market of high-quality, durable removals.
But for now, brave buyers have to wade into the wilds and see what works. So what does that look like – and what have they learned so far?
In this episode, Shayle talks to Stacy Kauk, head of sustainability at Shopify, which paid $55 million for 85,000 tons of removal in 2023. Kauk says that very few of those credits have been delivered yet, but the company, along with a few other early entrants like Stripe, H&M, and Microsoft, are investing in a varied field of technologies to develop the market.
Stacy thinks of Shopify’s approach like a venture capitalist’s portfolio, with some companies succeeding and others failing. Stacy and Shayle walk through the practical realities of building that portfolio, covering topics like:
Recommended Resources:
Bloomberg: Stripe, Alphabet and Others to Spend Nearly $1 Billion on Carbon Removal
Carbon Dioxide Removal Primer
Latitude: Fixing the messy voluntary carbon markets
Catalyst is supported by Antenna Group. For 25 years, Antenna has partnered with leading clean-economy innovators to build their brands and accelerate business growth. If you’re a startup, investor, enterprise or innovation ecosystem that’s creating positive change, Antenna is ready to power your impact. Visit antennagroup.com to learn more.
Catalyst is brought to you by Atmos Financial. Atmos is revolutionizing finance by leveraging your deposits to exclusively fund decarbonization solutions, like solar and electrification. Join in under 2 minutes at joinatmos.com/catalyst.
With Great Power: What other industries can teach utilities about innovation
Mining the deep sea
The good and bad of carbon capture
The early days of transoceanic hydrogen transport
The fungus among us
Building out a U.S. solar supply chain
AI for climate: a real world test
The carbon market’s quality problem
Keeping copper from limiting the energy transition
Four ways to store sunlight
Unpacking EPA’s newly proposed power emissions rule
The great Bitcoin energy debate
Understanding the transmission bottleneck
The Carbon Copy: A rogue geoengineering startup sparks worry
How to build more hydropower
What the new Treasury rules mean for EV supply chains
SVB, the banking crisis and climatetech
Betting big on renewable natural gas
The greenhouse gas you don’t know about
The Carbon Copy: The great electrician shortage
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Insight Story: Tech Trends Unpacked
Zero-Shot
Fast Forward by Tomorrow Unlocked: Tech past, tech future
The Unbelivable Truth - Series 1 - 26 including specials and pilot
Darknet Diaries