Question: Ed, you’re a co-founder of The Carbon Removers, and your title is Chief Carbon Officer. Can you share the thinking behind that title, especially since it’s not a common one?

Ed: It’s true, the title isn’t typical, but then again, the sector we’re working in isn’t typical either. Carbon capture and carbon removal are still emerging markets. The role of Chief Carbon Officer (CCO) is designed to focus on building this new market and pioneering the sector, while the CEO handles the more traditional business challenges.

“We are pioneers, and need to create market momentum”

It’s a huge opportunity—one we’re really excited about. The potential size of the carbon removal market is far greater than what’s available today. As the market matures, new players will come in. But for now, we’re pioneers, creating the momentum needed. This is a vast field, and this role of Chief Carbon Officer reflects the importance we place in shaping the future of the carbon market.

 

Question: The context is looking a little more challenging for the sector right now, how do you plan to address this?
We need to go beyond the green agenda
At The Carbon Removers, we believe that future carbon markets will need to be driven by commercial realities.  As Chief Carbon Officer, I really want to tie together the commercials of the market and the carbon considerations around what we’re doing. We need to go beyond the green agenda.  In the climate space, we need to be existing in a commercial field. We can’t just talk about how good what we’re doing is ethically and environmentally. The goal is to build a carbon market that is a legitimate business sector, not one that relies solely on voluntary commitments, because that’s a weak foundation. Climate businesses like ours have a unique opportunity to take action today, but only if we develop solutions that are commercially viable.

“We need Chief Carbon Officers to pioneer solutions that make sense commercially and environmentally”

Over the next decade, we expect the market to gradually shift from voluntary participation to a more compliance-driven approach. During that transition, we are pioneering solutions that make sense both commercially and environmentally. That’s why we need Chief Carbon Officers—because it’s about doing something that’s never been done before and creating solutions not just for our company, but for the entire market.

 

Question: Concretely, can you give an example of solutions that work today?

Let me give you an example of how getting on the front foot today, in terms of carbon removal, makes sense commercially.  The airline industry is an obvious, large emitter, and there’s lots of different voices saying what should be done there. On one hand, some people are saying we need to travel less. On another hand, people are saying we need to switch to sustainable aviation fuel – potentially different fuel sources, like electric or hydrogen. Right now, it’s actually cheaper for airlines to decarbonise by investing in carbon removal through a solution like ours than to buy sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). In the future, the cost of SAF will drop, but the point is this: by removing carbon today, airlines can begin decarbonising their operations now, while also supporting the development of future sustainable fuels. And that, to me, highlights an incredibly freeing opportunity, because we can do something about today’s emissions whilst we’re developing future technologies. 

“We can do something about emissions today whilst developing future technologies”

 

Question: What is your three year ambition?

In three years, I hope my personal contribution to this space will be a market that truly understands the value of high-quality carbon removal. And that understanding needs to happen on two levels: first, awareness of the different types of carbon removal, what defines high quality, and why there are price variations in carbon credits. And second, a broader understanding of how, when, and why we need to remove CO2 from the atmosphere.

 

In conclusion: we’re all defining our roles from the ground up!

The title of Chief Carbon Officer may be new, but in reality, all of our roles are new. Every person in our business is in an entirely unique situation, building a brand-new supply chain and defining their role from the ground up. It’s a remarkable place to be in.