Carbon Removal Jobs Newsletter Issue #5

Pick Of 10 Jobs, EU Framework and Will Rocks Save the World?

Author

Olivia de Csillery
December 13, 2022

Hello!

No steps forward, 2 steps back?

The UK has just approved the first new coal mine in 30 years, sparking global outrage (including from the government’s own official climate advisory body). The mine is expected to increase UK emissions by 0.4Mt CO2e per year - but the government claims that offsetting will make this a “net zero mine.” If the plan goes ahead, the need for robust carbon removal methods will unfortunately be even more urgent…

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In this newsletter, you’ll find some of the latest jobs found by Carbon Removal Jobs as well as:

  • News from the industry

  • The best resources for job-seekers

  • A highlight of one project/achievement/person pushing the industry forward

Feedback? What works and what doesn’t in the newsletter? Is there anything you’d like to see next time? Any parts you skipped over? Have suggestions for improving any of the content sections? Please reply to this email!

Now onto the good stuff...

10 awesome jobs in CDR 💼

In each edition we will pick out 10 of the 100+ jobs that are added to Carbon Removal Jobs between issues. Find all open roles on the site or catch every new role on our Twitter.

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Staying updated on carbontech 📰

This could play a major role in EU climate regulation and the CDR industry, as governmental support is crucial to reaching impactful scale. This is a fundamental first step taken by the EU to recognise the importance of CDR. However, as outlined by climate non-profit Bellona in their statement on the framework, there is still definitely room for growth. For instance, the guidance raised eyebrows with loose definitions of CDR, as the current wording still allows for the inclusion of reductions. The EU will reconvene on the matter in Q1 of 2023, where an expert group is planned to begin the certification of different methodologies, so keep your eyes out for further developments!

Shopify have released their carbon removal buying guide, aiming to simplify other organisations’ decarbonisation journeys

Shopify’s guide provides an end-to-end explanation on how to purchase carbon removal credits, from internal stakeholder buy-in all the way to retiring the credits you’ve purchased. They even provide contact details if you have questions for the Shopify team. They are extremely well positioned to provide this information as they have been at the forefront of corporate removal purchases since their Sustainability Fund back in 2020 and, more recently, their involvement in Frontier’s $925m advance market commitment.

Carbon Business Council, Airminers and Open Air Collective have submitted a letter to the IRS asking for 45Q tax credit expansion

The 45Q tax credit for carbon oxide sequestration in the US, first introduced in 2008, is intended to incentivise deployment of carbon capture, utilisation and storage. It has recently been reformed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, increasing the tax credit rate available for carbon capture and sequestration (CCUS) and lowering the volume threshold to qualify for the credit. In their letter to the US Internal Revenue Service, the companies outlined above suggest that 45Q should be standards based, and as method-neutral as possible for CO2 capture and storage. Currently, 45Q is heavily oriented towards DAC, meaning a method-neutral approach would expand the benefits to a broader range of CDR activities and drive further innovation within the space.

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Giving CDR projects their flowers 💐

Since CDR has entered mainstream climate discussion, there has been lots of noise about Enhanced Rock Weathering, a process which aims to accelerate natural rock weathering where carbon dioxide reacts with rocks. This typically occurs over thousands of years, but CDR scientists have been working on ways to massively accelerate this process. Benefits include its huge worldwide scalability, a carbon sequestration volume potential of over a billion tons, and the permanence of the carbon sequestration. It also has strong co-benefits as it can counteract soil acidity and increase soil fertility, whilst not depending on biomass feedstocks. However, this technology has not seen enough investment and has typically been regarded as being hard to do.

In an exciting first which should push forward the prevalence of Enhanced Rock Weathering technology, Puro.earth, a leading provider of CO2 Removal Certificates, have recently developed the world’s first carbon crediting methodology for Enhanced Rock Weathering. Puro.earth is one of the most reputable marketplaces for removal purchases, having developed a strong set of scientific criteria with an emphasis on measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) compared to other standards.

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Top resources for job-seekers

A running list of resources that we have found helpful for finding a career in carbon removal. Reply to this email if you have any further suggestions.

  • Airminers Community - Slack community of founders, scientists, investors working on mining carbon from the air.

  • Airminers Boot-up - Brilliant way to get learned on CDR. Join a cohort and form a reading group that takes you through the basics of the industry.

  • Work on Climate - Slack community dedicated to helping those find a job in climate (plus events and more)

  • Terra.do - App for all things work in climate related. Includes university style courses, networking opportunities and more.

  • Open Air Collective - Crack-team of activists working to advance the CDR industry. The best place to get involved in a carbon removal project today.

  • Carbon Curve substack - High quality, in-depth interviews and takes from the industry. Na’im also regularly shouts out job opportunities he finds.

  • Climatebase - A job board for the climate industry as a whole as well as offering a fellowship and other career-boosting services. Sometimes difficult to find carbon removal jobs.

  • Nori Podcast - Highlights the resources above and provides personal experience on pursuing a career in carbon removal.

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