Listen to the recorded session, Key Takeaways from Carbon Unbound East Coast w/ Carbon Containment Lab, AirMiners and Climate Vine here.
CUEC2024 Major Takeaways
On stage quote: "First thing we wanted to do was ground the room with the major takeaways that were discussed here, that we spent the most time on and we boiled it down to five. And I am going to read them now so we can get them out of the way. The first one is capital, so the need for more buyers was discussed a tonne and the need for innovative financing, also more standardised financing, getting CDR to a place like PPA. Capital, community benefits and engagement we have talked about a lot. The importance of collaboration and partnership. Fourth is transparency and that’s in MRV, in technology, in data transactions and then learning by doing and this idea of innovation by deployment." [00:03:35 - 00:04:26 on session recording. Listen here]
Follow up response: We consolidated the major takeaways from the conference into five distinct buckets. The first one is capital, meaning the need for more buyers as well as the need for innovative financing. The second is more standardised financing. Third are community benefits and engagement as a key unlock, given the importance of collaboration and partnership. Fourth is transparency in MRV, technology, and data transactions. The fifth major takeaway is the importance of learning by doing and this idea of innovation by deployment.
Non-reformist Reform
On stage quote: "This is an existential crisis. This really tangibly affects all of our lives in some way. And the lives of every species on this planet and so we wanted to elevate that sentiment, bring it up here, talk about urgency and also talk about transformative change. This is not a time for iterative change. This is a time for incremental change, for really being transformative." [00:23:31 - 00:23:09 Listen here]
Follow up response: There’s a concept of nonreformist reform that’s important here. We are facing the most intense climate crisis of humanity’s brief history on this planet. We must rebuild the infrastructure of the last 200 years in the coming 50 years. And we must do all of this deep transformational work with urgency, while also avoiding making the same mistakes we have made in the past by prioritizing short-term gains over long-term survival.
Inherently Future-Focussed
On stage quote: "When I think about gaps, I often think about the gaps that are coming, that people aren’t working on and I think what I heard is that we can be so focussed on the gaps that are coming in the future that we are not so much focussed on tangibly what we can do today." [00:23:16 - 00:23:31 Listen here]
Follow up response: Future planning doesn’t help if we are not moving forward today. All of CDR is inherently future-focused, but what can we do today to ensure that the future we are planning for exists?
Imagining and Implementing New Financial Models
On stage quote: "My sense is that it’s philanthropy and government. A market based approach probably doesn’t create incentives for that sort of radical collaboration alone but with private - public partnerships, there is some sort of melding there to make that innovative incentive system work, without the market based approach alone." [00:25:00 - 00:25:20 Listen here]
Follow up response: We know that innovative financial models and incentives are required across the climate space, and especially in infrastructure-heavy technologies. For the CDR industry to survive, grow, and thrive, innovative financial models will need to be imagined and implemented.
See the world through a carbon lens. Click here to read more quotebacks from Carbon Unbound East Coast 2024.
