Europe's Most Senior CDR Summit Returns

• 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 scaling removals to the required levels. How can incorporating removals in compliance markets help to scale up the funding? 
• The EU has stated that only European projects will be eligible for CRCF accreditation to incentivise the CDR industry in Europe. How does this impact the European CDR industry?
• Several countries, in and outside the EU, have compliance and/or 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?

Isabella Corpora - Director, Carbon Business Council

Adina Braha-Honciuc -  Global Policy Director – Climate & Environment, Schneider Electric
Giulio Volpi - Policy coordinator – DG Clima European Commission
Helen Bray - Vice President, Policy, Puro.earth
Jay Shah - Head of UK ETS Strategy, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero

Maintaining energy security while tackling climate change and rapidly decarbonising economies is a critical and longstanding challenge for all governments. BECCS is well placed to address this multifaceted problem by delivering baseload power and carbon removals.

Angela Hepworth - Commercial Director, Drax

• 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 can be done 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/or marketplaces play a more significant role in attracting and engaging buyers? If so, what can they ‘do better’?

Marie-Louise Du Bois - Global Head of Carbon Pricing, Energy Transition, S&P Global

Brett Orlando - Managing Director, Global Head of Commodity Transition, Bank of America
Joe Cruttwell - General Manager, Europe, Patch
Emma Parry - Partner, McKinsey
Kristjan Lepik - CEO, Arbonics
Salah Said - Head of Sustainability, Klarna

Eamon Jubbawy - Founder & CEO, Isometric

• There are many protocols that make the comparison and oversight of CDR difficult for investors and governments alike. What protocols have worked well, and do they differ for the relevant stakeholders?
• What are the challenges in implementing MRV, and how can we overcome them?
• How can technology such as dMRV play a part in innovating MRV moving forward? 
• How have MRV carbon reports been used to provide insights for companies and investors?

Adam Sipthorpe - Lead, New CDR Pathways, Carbonfuture

Niall Mottram - Head of Industrial & Energy, Cambridge Consultants
Erik Rylander - Commercial Director, Stockholm Exergi

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

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1. Corporate CDR Strategies – Early Stage vs. Scale-up Projects

Hugo Lakin - Growth Manager, Milkywire
Adina Braha-Honciuc, Global Policy Director – Climate & Environment, Schneider Electric
Salah Said - Head of Sustainability, Klarna

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2. Digital Innovation for Credible Carbon Removals: dMRV Solutions for the Global South

Caroline Kimani, Carbon Technical Expert, Climate Action Platform for Africa (CAP-A)

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3. Strengthening the Connective Tissue in CDR

Aaron Benjamin - UK and Europe Lead, Direct Air Capture Coalition

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4. Accessing Biological Acceleration in DAC and CCS 

Grant Aarons - CEO, FabricNano

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5. Biological Capture to Long-Term Storage: the Many Pathways Available Now and in the Near Future.
Justin Freiberg - Managing Director, Carbon Containment Lab

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6. Embedded CDR – Integrating a Requirement to Remove Carbon into Existing Regulations

Eli Mitchell-Larson – Co-Founder, Chief Science & Advocacy Officer, Carbon Gap

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7. How Might we Better Understand & Mitigate the Risks of CDR Projects & Tech to Unlock (Non-Philanthropic) Institutional Capital?

Stephen Brittain - Co-Founder, Insurtech Gateway

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8. Scaling Carbon, Restoring Ecosystems: The Future of Reforestation Investments

Pascal Asselin - Co-Founder, MORFO

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9. Financing Carbon Removal Projects: From Pilot to Commercial Scale

Kash Burchett - Global Head of CDR, HSBC

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10. Navigating the Fog: What Needs to Unfold for MRV to Unlock Trust in Marine CDR?

Mónica Larrazábal Álvarez-Guerra - Head of Commercialisation, SeaO2

• 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?

Antoine Diemert - Accreditation & VCM Policy Director, IETA

Anton Root - Co-Founder & Head of Research, Allied Offsets
Meera Atreya - Director of EMEA Advisory & Senior Scientist, Carbon Direct
Piera Patrizio - Head of Research, SBTi
Thomas Öström - Co-Founder & CEO, Nordbex

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

Erica Vertefeuille - Co-Founder, Terra Natural Capital
Sarah Jones - Principal, Zero Carbon Capital

Aaron Boylan - Co-Founder & CEO, WindCapture Technologies
Aurélie Gonzalez - Co-Founder & CEO, Yama
Oliver Erb - Co-Founder, Cula Technologies

Marian Krüger - Co-Founder & Managing Director, remove

We’re creating a safe space for CDR buyers to learn from and collaborate with each other. Led by industry experts and experienced strategic buyers, this Chatham House Rules, invite-only workshop will;

• Identify the barriers to the adoption of CDR and explore how these can be addressed within a collaborative CDR buyer community, including rules of engagement. 
• Discuss opportunities to reduce time/cost/risk by sharing best practice and creating standard process and documentation. 
• Deep dive into a specific challenge faced by Buyers. 
• Agree on areas for collaboration between the group.

Glenn Morley, Co-Creator, The CDR Procurement Guide

• 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 re-shape agriculture. What is the expected path for both, and what can obstruct growth? 
• Both methods either are or will likely become “conventional” 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?

Alix Bolle - Head of Policy & Communications, accend

Mai Bui - Director of Climate Science, Supercritical
Venna Lepel - Chief Carbon Officer & CMO, Novocarbo

• Both engineered and NbS solutions are on the rise in the Global South. What have been the main accelerators?
• What are some of the primary benefits of carbon removal to the Global South? What have been the main challenges?  
• What are the most crucial 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 between the private and public sectors occurred, and if so, has this strengthened the Removal landscape?

Hayley Mole - Venture Partner, Kinjani

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Dan Harburg - CTO, Mombak
Diana Maranga - Head of Commercialisation, Octavia Carbon
Ikarus Janzen - Chief Commercial Officer, Varaha
James Mwangi - Co-Founder & CEO, Africa Climate Ventures

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• Different funding is needed for different stages, and the relative shortage of growth-stage financing indicates the nascency of the CDR market. Where are the financing gaps specifically, and what funding is needed for the different stages? 
• 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, matching 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?

Vivian Bertseka - Co-Founder, BlueLayer

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Larissa Skarke - Principal, World Fund
Lisa Braune - Head of CDR, neustark
Stephanie Bischof - Global Director Climate Investments, South Pole

In this session, we will discuss the challenges of the food system and the role of carbon markets in building a resilient food system and restoring ecosystems.

• Identifying risks and threats to the food system from climate change.
• What are the sustainability pathways for food companies? How can regenerative agriculture be used to gain carbon credits?
• How do we scale regenerative agriculture?
• Why are carbon credits a viable option for transitioning the system?
• How do we ensure the integrity of soil carbon using MRV and machine learning?

Justin Freiberg - Managing Director, Carbon Containment Lab

Frederik Aagaard - Chief Commercial Officer, Agreena
Louis Redshaw - CEO & Founder, Redshaw Advisors Ltd
Marcela Flores - CEO, Tierra Foods Limited
Thomas Gent - UK Regenerative Farmer & Market Lead, Agreena

• 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 world is awash 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?

Kim Zou - Co-Founder & CEO, Sightline Climate

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Elena Pérez Celis - Head of Policy & Public Affairs, Bankers for Net Zero
Tobias Seikel - Co-Founder & Partner, Planet A Ventures
Aziz Sulaiman Rahim - Principal, Siemens Energy Ventures

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• 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 that CDR is at the forefront of all departments, including the executive level?
• Is CDR still too ‘niche’ and nascent, are reduction or avoidance credits in favour? 
• Are lack of education, voluntary market vs compliance and/or a lack of organisational resources also factors?

David Zorn - Head of Strategic Partnerships, Climeworks

• 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?
• With facilities underway worldwide in your respective markets, what is the latest on these projects? What are the key contributing factors moving these projects forward?
• Money talks, but how significant is it, and does the investor economy play an important role where you are deploying today?
• For regions around the world where conditions—like space limitations—are less ideal for deployment, what value can removals bring, and what avenues exist to participate in this emerging global economy?
• What have been the successes of regional collaboration opportunities, technology transfers, and best practices between Europe, North America and beyond?

Julie Gosalvez - President, AFEN

Kel Coulson - Director of Policy, Carbon Engineering
Talal Hasan - Co-Founder & CEO, 44.01
Adrian Corless - CEO, CarbonCapture

Start-up your engines! Investors will be positioned in the breakout room ready to meet start-ups. Start-ups take a seat and have 4 minutes before a bell is rung and people move to the next table.

Erica Vertefeuille – Co-Founder, Terra Natural Capital

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Hayley Mole - Venture Partner, Kinjani      

James Lockyer - Portfolio Management Director, Climate Innovation, Microsoft

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Karen Lee - Limited Partner, Rally Cap Ventures

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Kash Burchett - Global Head of CDR, HSBC

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Namratha Kothapalli - Principal, Speedinvest

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Neha Manaktala - Head of Climate Tech Investments, JP Morgan

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Renato Rossi - Investor, Al Mada Ventures

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Siddarth Shrikanth - Investment Director, Just Climate

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Tobias Seikel - Co-Founder & Partner, Planet A Ventures

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Roberta Franchi - Investor, Counteract

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Hans Westerhof - Co-Founder & Managing Director, remove

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Bilal Ahmad - Principal, Shell Ventures

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Andy Brown - Head of Negative Emissions Technologies, Siemens

An intimate exchange between leading decision-makers and CDR practitioners with a specific focus on government support to GGR suppliers and pilot projects.

Eli Mitchell-Larson – Co-Founder, Chief Science & Advocacy Officer, Carbon Gap

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Jonathan Lindsell - Head of Greenhouse Gas Removal Strategy, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero

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

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1. Corporate CDR Strategies – Early Stage vs. Scale-up Projects

Hugo Lakin - Growth Manager, Milkywire

Adina Braha-Honciuc, Global Policy Director – Climate & Environment, Schneider Electric

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2. Digital Innovation for Credible Carbon Removals: dMRV Solutions for the Global South

Caroline Kimani, Carbon Technical Expert, Climate Action Platform for Africa (CAP-A)

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3. Strengthening the Connective Tissue in CDR

Aaron Benjamin - UK and Europe Lead, Direct Air Capture Coalition

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4. Accessing Biological Acceleration in DAC and CCS 

Grant Aarons - CEO, FabricNano

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5. Biological Capture to Long-Term Storage: the Many Pathways Available Now and in the Near Future.
Justin Freiberg - Managing Director, Carbon Containment Lab

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6. Embedded CDR – Integrating a Requirement to Remove Carbon into Existing Regulations

Eli Mitchell-Larson – Co-Founder, Chief Science & Advocacy Officer, Carbon Gap

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7. How Might we Better Understand & Mitigate the Risks of CDR Projects & Tech to Unlock (Non-Philanthropic) Institutional Capital?

Stephen Brittain - Co-Founder, Insurtech Gateway

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8. Scaling Carbon, Restoring Ecosystems: The Future of Reforestation Investments

Pascal Asselin - Co-Founder, MORFO

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9. Financing Carbon Removal Projects: From Pilot to Commercial Scale

Kash Burchett - Global Head of CDR, HSBC

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10. Navigating the Fog: What Needs to Unfold for MRV to Unlock Trust in Marine CDR?

Mónica Larrazábal Álvarez-Guerra - Head of Commercialisation, SeaO2

• 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 there other solutions, including SAF gaining terrain?
• 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?

Michael Evans - Group Sustainability Insights Manager, IAG

Freya Burton -  Chief Sustainability Officer, Lanzatech
Richard Marsh - Project Development Manager, LanzaJet

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

Flo Oberhofer -  COO, PyroCCS
Joyce Kamande - Co-Founder & COO, Safi Organics
Pascal Asselin - Co-Founder, MORFO

• 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 significant 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 address climate and biodiversity and even some social issues. Are there risks? And how can we assess the co-benefits from this holistic perspective?

Rebekah Braswell - CEO, Land Life

Mike Davies - CEO, Social Carbon
Henry Albrecht - Co-Founder, TransparenC

While insights on salaries seem to be at the top of mind for job seekers and employers alike, salary data is, unfortunately, still quite opaque. This makes it difficult for companies to benchmark and for job seekers to know their worth. Presenting findings and insights from the first-ever CDR salary survey to help us attract and retain the best talent to reach gigaton scale.

Helen Lundebye - Co-Founder, CDRjobs

• 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 cost 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?

Marta Krupinska - CEO & Co-Founder, CUR8

Jeremiah Lim - Director, Sustainable & Impact Investment Banking Group, Barclays
Simon Bager - Co-Founder & CIO, Klimate.co
Paolo Piffaretti - Co-Founder & CEO, CarbonX Climate
Stacy Kauk - Head of Science, Isometric

Leaders come together to discuss the findings and insights across the last two days, and what is needed to move the needle on CDR delivery.

Zara Amer - Editor, Unbound Summits

Matthew Caudle - Chief of Staff, Opna

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