The CDR Policy Scoop

In this episode of The CDR Policy Scoop, Sebastian Manhart and Eve Tamme are joined by Hannah Bebbington Valori, Head of Deployment at Frontier, the advanced market commitment backed by Stripe, Alphabet, Shopify, McKinsey, and Meta that has become one of the largest and most experienced buyers of carbon removal in the world.

The conversation opens with Frontier's newly redesigned innovation program, which this year expands beyond pre-purchases to include R&D grants and more flexible check sizes. Hannah explains that roughly 60% of the R&D gaps Frontier identified at launch in 2022 have already been worked on or solved, a sign the field has matured enough to warrant a broader funding approach.

Much of the discussion centres on Frontier's theory of change and the concept of the "baton pass": The idea that voluntary corporate buyers exist to pull technology from lab to field and prepare a portfolio of proven solutions for governments to eventually take over. Hannah is direct that carbon removal is ultimately a public good requiring government-scale support, and that the voluntary market alone cannot get to gigatons. Sebastian and Eve push on how Frontier engages on policy across jurisdictions, how its buying criteria feed into legislative processes, and the tension between being "tech agnostic" in policy design and the practical pressure to fund what already works.

The episode also revisits Frontier's 2024 fellows program, which placed individuals around the world to build demand for carbon removal through policy. Hannah gives an honest assessment: the Nordic Carbon Removal Alliance was a genuine win, but one year is a short runway for systems change, and policy moves slowly by design. The conversation closes on the question the whole sector is watching, what happens to Frontier after 2030, with Hannah confirming the team is actively working on it.

Links:
Eve Tamme: LinkedIn and Website
Sebastian Manhart: LinkedIn and Website
Hannah Bebbington Valori: LinkedIn
Frontier: LinkedIn and Website
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In this episode of The CDR Policy Scoop, Sebastian Manhart and Eve Tamme are joined by Harry Smith, Principal Consultant at Aether and former Leverhulme Doctoral Scholar at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of East Anglia, where he completed his PhD on the policy and governance of carbon dioxide removal.

The conversation explores what national long-term low-emission development strategies actually say about carbon removal, and how much of it should concern us. Harry draws on his doctoral research, which analysed long-term strategies across 71 countries, to explain why these documents are often optional, outdated, and light on detail when it comes to CDR.

The episode digs into the residual emissions data at the heart of his research: only 26 of 71 countries quantified residual emissions at the point of net zero, with an average of 21% of peak emissions, more than double the 10% commonly referenced in IPCC scenarios. Australia and Canada sit at 52% and 44% respectively, leaning heavily on CDR and international credits to close the gap.

Sebastian, Eve and Harry also examine why the land sector carries far more weight in national strategies than engineered CDR, and why Harry considers it the bigger risk. The discussion closes on what long-term strategies have actually contributed, a refinement of end-of-century warming projections, and why near-term policy design, not long-term vision documents, is where the real work on CDR now needs to happen.

Links:
Eve Tamme: LinkedIn and Website
Sebastian Manhart: LinkedIn and Website
Harry Smith: LinkedIn
UNFCCC Long Term Strategies Portal
Promising Words, Evaluating Actions: Assessing Carbon Dioxide Removal in National Net Zero Plans, by Harry B Smith
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In this episode of The CDR Policy Scoop, Sebastian Manhart and Eve Tamme are joined by Maureen Walsh, Executive Director of the US Biochar Coalition (USBC), to discuss how biochar has quietly built one of the most resilient policy positions of any CDR technology in the United States.

Recorded amid tariff pressures, farm bill limbo, and a Washington reshaped by the second Trump administration, the conversation gets straight to the question: is this political moment different? Maureen's answer is yes, but biochar is finding opportunities others aren't, by refusing to be defined as a climate technology.

The episode unpacks the strategic reframe at the heart of USBC's approach: positioning biochar as a solution to waste, wildfires, PFAS contamination, and farmer resilience rather than leading with carbon removal. Maureen explains how this opens doors across the aisle, from senators focused on carbon sequestration to those who just need to deal with mountains of woody biomass before fire season.

The discussion dives into the legislative machinery: the Carbon Resources Innovation Act (Senate Bill 3778), a technology-neutral update to 45Q that would make biochar and other CDR methods eligible for the tax credit without naming them explicitly. Maureen breaks down why 45Q doesn't currently cover biochar, how BBBA reshaped the tax credit landscape, and why biochar survived the cut when other technologies didn't. Sebastian and Maureen also explore the art of Hill advocacy, the 20-minute meeting, the constituency-first argument, and why cultivating champions now is the only way to be ready when the next big tax vehicle arrives.

Maureen walks through USBC's concrete wins: the EPA's landmark 2024 ruling that pyrolysis of clean cellulosic biomass is no longer classified as waste incineration, and biochar's dedicated section in Fix Our Forests, which has passed the House with bipartisan support. She also details the USDA conservation practice codes already paying farmers and producers to use biochar, and the patchwork of regional implementation that USBC is steadily working to fix.

The episode closes with two lessons every CDR sector should hear: drop the word sustainability and start talking about resilience, and if you're still going to Washington alone, you're already behind.

Links:
Eve Tamme: LinkedIn and Website
Sebastian Manhart: LinkedIn and Website
Maureen Walsh: LinkedIn
US Biochar Coalition: LinkedIn and Website

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In this episode of The CDR Policy Scoop, Eve Tamme is joined by Canadian Senator Colin Deacon from Nova Scotia. Senator Deacon is a former entrepreneur, who has been a driving force behind what may be the most comprehensive government study on marine carbon dioxide removal undertaken by any national legislature to date.

The conversation centres on the landmark report published by Canada's Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans in February 2026, which examined marine CDR - particularly ocean alkalinity enhancement - and put forward nine clear, actionable recommendations. Senator Deacon explains what drew the committee to the topic, the unexpected complexity of navigating four overlapping federal regulators, and why agile regulation, not the science, emerged as the single biggest barrier to scaling the sector.

Eve and Senator Deacon explore the significance of Canada asserting sovereign jurisdiction over land-based ocean alkalinity enhancement projects, the case for creating a regulatory sandbox that brings innovators and regulators together, and the importance of access to compliance carbon markets for removal credits. Senator Deacon reflects on Canada's strong foundation in this space, from two X Prize winners and the Ocean Frontier Institute at Dalhousie University, to a Prime Minister in Mark Carney with deep personal understanding of carbon markets and end-to-end credit integrity.

The episode also touches on the role of social license, why site visits proved the most powerful tool for building political buy-in among new committee members, and why Senator Deacon insists that scaling and studying marine CDR must happen in parallel, not sequentially. The discussion closes with a forward-looking call: the world will not reach net zero without carbon removal, and the time to build the markets, the regulation, and the trust to support it is now.

Links:
Eve Tamme: LinkedIn and Website
Senator Colin Deacon and Website
Carbon removal, from air to sea: Canada, a leader in restoring oceans ecosystems and fighting climate change
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In this episode of The CDR Policy Scoop, Sebastian Manhart and Eve Tamme are joined by Jennifer Wilcox, Presidential Distinguished Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management at the U.S. Department of Energy.

Recorded amid major policy shifts in Washington, the conversation explores what has changed - and what has not - for carbon management and carbon removal in the United States. Jennifer reflects on her time at the DOE during the Biden administration, including the reorientation of federal funding toward climate mitigation, the launch of large-scale demonstration programs, and the Carbon Negative Earthshot.

The episode dives into the current landscape: paused or uncertain funding for DAC hubs and purchase programs, the ongoing role of tax credits such as 45Q, and how Congressional appropriations interact with administrative reorganizations. Jennifer explains why some federal incentives remain intact, how unobligated funds could still shape the future, and why tax policy continues to provide a foundation for investment even amid political turbulence.

Sebastian and Eve also explore the intersection of AI-driven data center growth, energy infrastructure, and carbon removal - including emerging models where direct air capture integrates with geothermal energy or supports data center cooling. The discussion highlights the importance of aligning CDR with broader industrial priorities such as nuclear, critical minerals, and domestic energy production.

The episode concludes with a forward-looking message: safeguard progress by embedding carbon removal in communities, regional strengths, and bipartisan economic value. Policies may shift, but learning, infrastructure, and local ownership create momentum that is difficult to reverse.

Links:
Eve Tamme: LinkedIn and Website
Sebastian Manhart: LinkedIn and Website
Professor Jennifer Wilcox: LinkedIn
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