Written By Anu Khan

In early 2023, CDR industry stakeholders published an open letter calling for an independent standards body. That letter, combined with my work on MRV policy at Carbon180, led me to ask:

• Where do standards come from?
• How are they maintained?
• Who should be responsible for this in the CDR industry?
• (What even are “standards” anyway?)

Through 18 months of research on the carbon removal ecosystem, extensive industry interviews, and case studies from other emerging industries, I’ve come to believe that the answer is actually pretty clear: carbon removal is a public good, and the rules will be set and maintained by policymakers and regulators implementing CDR policies.

But operationalizing this answer is complicated. Carbon removal is not one thing. It’s a whole suite of technologies overlapping with or embedded in many different regulated industries: waste management, agriculture, the power sector, mining, construction materials, and more. That means public servants with a wide range of backgrounds and expertise will engage in CDR standardization and rule-making, and they will likely need technical assistance to ensure policies are backed by the best available science.

Right now, industry has the strongest financial incentive to participate in the detailed, technical work of regulatory standards development.

Industry can and should play a role. Companies have practical experience financing, building and running CDR projects all over the world. That experience is invaluable when creating standards. But industry cannot be the only voice in the room.

As we’ve seen many times in the voluntary carbon market, maximizing profit doesn’t always align with maximizing climate impact.

It is the role of civil society — academics, NGOs, and community organizations — to bridge the gap between the knowledge and incentives of industry and the pace and responsibilities of government. This is particularly true for new technologies like CDR, where science and innovation move quickly. But CDR NGOs today aren’t fully equipped to do this work.

I know from my own experience leading the Science & Innovation team at Carbon180. We would often be asked to review methodologies, both public and private, across jurisdictions and pathways. We knew this work was important. It was also time-consuming and required specialized knowledge to do well. Our team wasn’t built to do standards work.

That’s where the Carbon Removal Standards Initiative comes in.

At CRSI (pronounced like Circe the Greek witch or Cersei the Game of Thrones villain), we’re creating a container around the challenge of CDR quantification standards. We bring together knowledge, resources, and stakeholders with a singular focus on standards and quality infrastructure. We build tools, like our Quantification Resources Database, to promote transparency and rigor in carbon quantification. Most importantly, we provide provide technical assistance to NGOs, policymakers, and regulators to help develop and implement effective CDR policy.

Ultimately, we believe that carbon removal is a tool for climate justice. Justice requires accountability, and justice in the carbon removal sector requires the ability to rigorously count the carbon.

Excited about building a transparent, accountable CDR industry worthy of public investment? Reach out. We’ve got a lot to do!