Europe's Most Senior CDR Summit Returns

08:55 - Opening Remarks from Unbound Summits

‍

09:00 - The Status Quo on European CDR Policy: Setting a Benchmark

Format: Panel

• What is the status of the EU carbon removal strategy? Does it enable Europe to remain on track with its decarbonisation target? And does the EU agenda fit in the global race to zero competition?
• The voluntary markets are small and unsuited to scale removals to the required levels. How can incorporating removals in compliance markets help to scale up the funding? 
• The EU has stated that to incentivise the CDR industry in Europe, only European projects will be eligible for CRCF accreditation. How does this impact the European CDR industry?
• Several countries, in and outside the EU, have compliance and policies that focus on CDR. What are the main reasons for this ambition? Have these efforts already had notable impacts, e.g., an increase in buyers?
• What is the net-zero status in the UK? Is the 2023  Growth Plan scaling up and deploying technologies?

‍

09:45 - BECCS: Will It Keep on Capturing Us Permanently?

Format: Fireside Chat

‍

BECCS was the preferred solution in the biggest removal purchase earlier this year, ensuring another critical step taken in the race to net zero.  These leading BECCS companies will share insights on the importance and benefits of BECCS and its growing role in achieving net zero. 

‍

10:15 - Networking Coffee Break

10:45 - Experienced Buyers Sharing Lessons Learnt ‍

Format: Panel

• Companies need to meet their net-zero goals. How can experienced removals-focused buyers advise and guide businesses? How can we increase activity without a carrot or stick?
• What is the biggest roadblock for carbon removal purchases today?  What due diligence needs to occur to overcome this obstacle?
• To what extent do buyer priorities influence their buying pattern and portfolio design?
• What is the business case for Carbon removal? Why should businesses act now and not wait until they have figured out their 90% reduction plan?
• Can suppliers and marketplaces play a more significant role in attracting and engaging buyers? If so, what can they ‘do better’? 

‍

11:30 - Achieving Just Outcomes with Robust MRV

Format: Fireside Chat

‍

12:00 - Campfire Sessions

Format: Team Collaboration

‍

Organisations invite attendees to participate in intimate discussions around critical challenges related to CDR development. The session will culminate in the delegation sharing new ideas.

12:45 - Networking Lunch

13:45 - The Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM): Real, Additional, and Permanent?

Format: Panel

• Is the time of reduction or avoidance credits over, and can we finally increase removal credits in this ‘niche’ market of high-quality credits?
• The VCM is more agile and flexible, making it ideal for scaling novel carbon removal methods. How can these more expensive credits be promoted? 
• What has the outcome of IC-VCM’s The Core Carbon Principles been? Is the SBTi's Corporate Net-Zero Standard motivating businesses to use removals in their target setting?
• How are government-led voluntary (CACF) and compliance efforts taking shape, and are they making an impact?
• Have the above efforts contributed enough towards transparency, accountability, and integrity to increase business activity? Where are the bottlenecks? 

‍

14:30 - CDR Entrepreneurs' Showcases

Format: Pitching Session

‍

‍Start-ups will present their state-of-the-art CDR solutions to a panel of investor judges.

15:00 - Breaking the Waves: The Win-Win of Direct Ocean Removal Technology

Format: Partnership Showcase

‍

Can Direct Ocean Removal (DOR) technology deliver high-quality, reliable, safe, certified carbon removal credits? Hear first-hand about this partnership, including launching a pilot to build large-scale commercial plants in critical regions worldwide.

‍

15:15 - Biochar and Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW): Gaining More Terrain 

Format: Fireside chat

• Biochar accounted for 90+% of credits delivered so far. Why is it so popular, and does MRV readiness play a leading role besides price and delivery?
• The potential for storing carbon in soil is greater than previously believed. ERW and biochar also promise to reshape agriculture. What is the expected path for both, and what can obstruct growth? 
• Both methods are or will likely become “classical” project development businesses. What implications does this have from a financing and partnership perspective? Are VCs the right funders for these methods?
• What is more important when using and financing these technologies: higher crop yields and improved crop health or carbon removal capacity in soil? 

15:45 - Networking Coffee Break

‍

16:15 - Is the Global South Leapfrogging in Carbon Removal?

Format: Panel

• Both engineered and NbS solutions are on the rise in the Global South. What have been the leading accelerators?
• What are some of the main benefits of carbon removal to the Global South? What have been the main challenges?  
• What are the most essential elements in increasing supply and demand, commitments, and financial mechanisms to accelerate the development of CDR in your country?
• Who are the buyers of the carbon credits and funders that support the development of technology and projects in these areas? What decision-making factors are involved in choosing the region? 
• Some governments have, or promote, a legal mandate to start developing carbon removal approaches. Have collaborations occurred between the private and public sectors, and has this strengthened the Removal landscape?

17:00 - Beyond the Start-Up Phase: Growth Investments vs Project Financing

Format: Fireside Chat

• The relative shortage of growth-stage financing indicates the CDR market's nascence. Where are the financing gaps, and what funding is required for the different stages of growth? 
• How do we entice asset managers to deliver the CDR funding needed at later stages without having delivered much? 
• When reaching the scale-up phase, billions of dollars are needed from large-scale investors to meet their expectations, and CDR companies’ risk profiles usually don’t match. How can we bridge the chasm?
• What have been success stories from other industries, and are there lessons learnt that can be helpful to CDR investors?

17:30 - Networking Reception

08:00 - Breakfast Brief: How Carbon Removal Can Bring Nature Back into Agriculture and Help Fix Our Broken Food System

Format: Panel 

‍

09:00 - Convincing Leadership: Building the Business Case for Carbon Removal

Format: Presentation

• What is needed to convince your leadership team to invest in carbon removal solutions, ideally with large-scale potential? Does Leadership understand the benefits, such as company reputation, maintaining talent, and attracting customers? 
• Should CDR be a top-down or bottom-up approach? How do companies ensure CDR is at the forefront of all departments, including the executive level?
• Is CDR still too ‘niche’ and nascent? Are reduction or avoidance credits, therefore, more in favour? 
• Are lack of education, voluntary market vs compliance and a lack of organisational resources also factors? 

‍

09:15 - CDR Engineered Developments: Europe & North America

Format: Fireside Chat

• CO2 tech removal solutions are essential to Europe’s ability to achieve its climate policy objectives. What is happening in Europe to accommodate this growth?
• The EU’s ban on international carbon offsets from its emissions market is supposed to incentivise the European CDR industry. Is it realistic to source the necessary removals only from Europe?
• Money talks, but how significant is it between the two continents, and does the investor economy play an important role?
• Europe might not have the space for extensive DAC implementation, but is the region inventive regarding CCUS and trailblazing in storing beyond land?
• What have been the successes of regional collaboration opportunities, technology transfers, and best practices between Europe and North America?

‍

09:45 - Europe’s Investor Ecosystem: Warming Up to CDR?

Format: Panel

• Investors in ‘conservative’ Europe have opened their wallets, particularly towards climate tech. How much of that is focused on removals, and is it the correct type of financing? 
• The space is surging with early-stage climate funds. What are the later-stage funds looking for? How will CDR companies manage the gap in funding around the FOAK/NOAK? 
• What is the CDR financing landscape like, and what financial instruments or models that have been successful in other sectors can be used or further developed in CDR? 
• What makes the European market attractive for North American investors, in particular, and how big a portion do they represent in the investor landscape? 
• EU support positively influences capital deployment, but what bottlenecks hinder the full potential of European startup removal? 

‍

10:30 - Networking Coffee Break

11:00 - The Power of Engagement Between CDR Policymakers and ‘Doers’

Format: Fireside Chat

‍

This intimate exchange between leading decision-makers and CDR practitioners from across Europe and beyond will be hosted by Carbon Gap and remove. Discussion and case studies will focus on what the CDR sector needs to do to meet 2030-scale requirements. 

‍

11:30 - Campfire Sessions

Format: Team Collaboration

‍

Organisations invite attendees to participate in intimate discussions around key challenges related to CDR development. The session will culminate in the delegation sharing new ideas.

12:15 - Networking Lunch

‍

13:15 - Aviation En Route to Net-Zero: Navigating the Turbulence

Format: Keynote

• How is the aviation industry progressing towards achieving net carbon by 2050, and to what extent are removals factoring into their plans?
• What are the preferred solutions; is DAC aviation’s darling, or are other solutions, including SAF, gaining ground?
• Are airports working towards a net-zero flight path?
• CORSIA—The pilot phase has ended, and the real deal has started. What is the status of the carbon credits issued so far?

13:30 - CDR Entrepreneur Showcases: Spotlight on The Global South‍

Format: Pitching Session
‍

Bold CDR project founders from the Global South will present their solutions to a panel of investor judges.

14:00 Nature-Based Solutions (NbS): Flourishing with Confidence‍

Format:  Fireside Chat

• Several headwinds, including greenwashing, a lack of additionality, and concerns around permanence, have tainted NbS. Nevertheless, demand is on the rise. How can risk be managed with land-based projects? 
• Around the world, demand is increasing for high-quality nature-based removals, but what does this mean for Europe?
• The Green Claims Directive requires permanent removals to balance fossil fuel emissions; where does this leave nature-based removals?
• Why are more experienced buyers investing in NbS? How important are the co-benefits, such as rebuilding biodiversity and job opportunities? 
• Some see NbS as a solution to a triple planetary crisis, meaning It can become an answer to climate biodiversity and even address some social issues. Are there risks? And how can we assess the co-benefits from this holistic perspective?

‍

14:30 - Networking Coffee Break

‍

14:45 - Diving Deep into Carbon Removal Offtake Agreements 

Format: Panel

• Offtakes are especially critical in driving new projects and supporting new technologies. Are these agreements providing an impactful way for companies to take meaningful climate action? 
• What does a balanced carbon removals portfolio look like?  
• Offtakes look promising on paper, but does their potential live up to their reality?
• Do these purchase agreements send the desired positive signal to businesses and bring down the costs curve for potential buyers interested in buying high-quality removal credits? How do we get businesses involved in this practice?
• Which existing portfolios or solutions have been the most popular and why? 

‍

15:30 - Key Takeaways from Carbon Unbound Europe

Format: Wrap-Up Discussion

‍

16:00 - End of Conference

‍