Carbon Removal: A Primer - [Business Breakdowns, EP. 89]
This week and next week we will break down the two biggest levers we have in the fight against climate change. Carbon reduction and carbon removal.
Today, we will focus on carbon removal. To break down where we stand and what needs to be done, I’m joined by Nan Ransohoff. Nan is Head of Climate at Stripe and she also leads Frontier, which is an advanced market commitment of some $1 billion to kickstart a market for carbon removal solutions. We discuss the broad climate picture, the state of technology today, and the potential for good if we can scale up low carbon energy sources. Please enjoy this primer on Carbon Removal.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.
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Show Notes
[00:02:14] - [First question] - Overview of the presence of carbon in the environment
[00:03:35] - Relevant trends in carbon emissions and energy use
[00:05:17] - How to handle a continued rise in energy consumption
[00:06:49] - Energy demand and electricity grids as supply chains
[00:08:09] - Why carbon removal is important
[00:09:52] - Current state of carbon capture technology and methods
[00:13:10] - Promising carbon removal concepts for the future
[00:14:02] - Demand level for carbon removal solutions companies
[00:15:22] - Carbon offsets versus proper removal
[00:16:53] - Constraints on arable land for removal projects
[00:17:24] - How Stripe Climate sparked interest and showed that demand exists
[00:21:17] - Logistics of engaging companies to build carbon removal solutions
[00:24:39] - Governments are gradually accelerating decarbonization efforts
[00:28:03] - Her personal motivations for decarbonization
[00:29:49] - Roles of for-profit and nonprofit entities in carbon removal
[00:31:50] - Frontier’s philanthropic motives
[00:32:16] - The role of geopolitics in global carbon pollution
[00:34:31] - Key geophysical attributes of different regions in the world
[00:35:24] - Increasing investment in hard tech for climate problems
[00:36:57] - Biggest technological players today in the space
[00:37:30] - Best and worst potential outcomes of decarbonization efforts
[00:39:24] - Resources to learn more and the positive side effects of decarbonization
[00:41:58] - Lessons learned from creating a marketplace for carbon removal
[00:43:21] - What it’s like working as a climate-focused branch of a big company
[00:46:40] - What she’s most excited about in the near future for carbon removal
The Economics of Carbon Removal with Nan Ransohoff
What happens when there’s demand for a solution that doesn’t quite exist yet?
Today, we bring on Nan Ransohoff to talk about this exact problem as it relates to carbon removal, and how Frontier — the initiative out of Stripe that she is leading – is using a nearly $1B advanced market commitment fund to try to jumpstart this market.
If you don’t know what that means, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered.
Throughout the episode, we discuss the multivariate carbon equation and why emission reductions are not enough, the difference between offsets and permanent removal, who’s paying for tons today, what solutions already exist and how Frontier is vetting them, moving down the cost curve, where policy fits in, and ultimately what success might look like in this nascent industry.
This is part 1 of our 3-part series on carbon removal. Look out next week for part 2 and part 3, where we dive into a growing marketplace for carbon and showcase several carbon removal solutions.
Resources:
Frontier’s website: https://frontierclimate.com/
Nan’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/nanransohoff
Nan’s article: https://nanransohoff.com/A-mental-model-for-combating-climate-change-846be1769d374fa1b5b855407c93da66
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Side investing (VC School) + Stripe's Nan Ransohoff: Frontier carbon removal | 1454
Sunday double-header. First, Jason discusses why some VC firms allow side investing and others explicitly forbid it (01:50). Then, in a This Week in Climate Startups segment Molly interviews Nan Ransohoff, Head of Climate at Stripe (12:27) about their $900M+ plan to fund carbon sequestration (31:18).
00:00 Jason and Molly introduce today’s show
01:50 VC Sunday School: What’s the deal with side investing?
09:42 Thorne - Personalized, scientific wellness. Go to https://Thorne.com/u/TWIST
10:55 Intro This Week in Climate Startups
12:27 TWiCS: Molly interviews Nan Ransohoff, Head of Climate at Stripe
20:14 Wealthfront - Get your first $5,000 managed for free, for life at https://wealthfront.com/TWIST
21:30 The market for carbon removal: paying to re-sequester carbon
29:57 OpenPhone - Get an extra 20% off any plan for your first 6 months at https://openphone.com/twist
31:18 Discussing how Frontier functions as a non-profit within Stripe & how to make something like Frontier mainstream
Check out Frontier: https://frontierclimate.com
FOLLOW Nan Ransohoff: https://twitter.com/nanransohoff
FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis
FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood