Best Sebastian Manhart Podcasts (2025)

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Scoop School Lesson 1: Carbon Removal Accounting 27:28

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5d ago27:28

27:28

It may still be summer, but the new series, “Scoop School”, is now in session. First lesson: Carbon Removal Accounting. Which is not the same as MRV, and the lesson will get to that. Countries are facing new and urgent questions regarding how to account for removals, whether it's within the context of the Paris Agreement’s Crediting Mechanism PACM,…

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The Giga Ten Episode #8 July 2025 16:06

10d ago16:06

16:06

By Leila Conners & Sebastian Manhart

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The LULUCF Squeeze: Can policy save the EU's fading carbon sink? - with Asger Strange Olesen 27:50

11d ago27:50

27:50

Europe’s forests and soils have been acting as an indispensable cushion for our climate targets, currently offsetting around 6% of the EU’s GHG emissions. But the LULUCF sink - the EU’s natural carbon safety net - has dropped by 30% compared to the previous decade. Recent projections highlight a crucial gap between the climate target and the curren…

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CDR and Credibility: Unpacking reversal rules under Article 6.4 - with Danny Cullenward 30:23

19d ago30:23

30:23

The Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM, also known as the Article 6.4 mechanism) is going through another round of public consultations. One key document on the table is the draft standard on non-permanence/reversals, which has sparked a lot of questions. What are the options on the table? What does it mean for different types of carbon remo…

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Is the UK quietly leading the CDR charge? - with Ted Christie-Miller 28:57

20d ago28:57

28:57

We’ve covered a lot of CDR policy developments in Europe and across the pond in the United States. But, truth be told, the UK is a bit of a blind spot for us. The UK’s Net-Zero Strategy was one of the first to establish an engineered Greenhouse Gas Removal (GGR aka CDR) target. And only days before our scoop, the UK government has confirmed its pla…

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CDR Durability: What counts as real climate impact? - with Gabrielle Walker 29:00

27d ago29:00

29:00

Like it or not, the “like-for-like” debate in carbon removal isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Conversations around temporary versus durable, conventional versus novel removals are increasingly diverging. Should carbon markets foresee separate roles for these removal types, or strive for a common ground that makes all removals comparable? Is true …

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The EU’s first CRCF methodologies: are they good to go? 27:43

1M ago27:43

27:43

The first methodologies for permanent removals under the EU’s Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming Regulation are being finalised. The European Commission’s 8th Carbon Removal Expert Group meeting, held on 10 July, was dedicated to a draft delegated act on DACCS, BioCCS, and biochar. Does this draft piece of legislation do justice to the CDR methods u…

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Can Germany lead the way on CDR Policy? - with Nadine Walsh 28:29

1M ago28:29

28:29

Not one week passes without news of major developments coming out of Germany: earlier in the year, Europe’s biggest economy became the first country in the world to enshrine a net-zero target (2045) into its constitution. Following the recent election, the ruling coalition then included carbon removal in its coalition treaty. More recently, a line …

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EU’s 2040 targets: will CDR hit the bullseye? 27:35

2M ago27:35

27:35

A day after the European Commission published its legislative proposal for the EU’s 2040 climate target, Eve Tamme and Sebastian Manhart sat down for a timely session to analyse the proposal. Although the expected 90% net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 (compared to 1990 levels) is the headline target, several key elements in the prop…

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SHOWDOWN: Reductions vs Removal Credits - with Renat Heuberger and Marta Krupinska 38:15

2M ago38:15

38:15

This gets to the core of the carbon market debate. Reductions, including avoidance credits, currently account for over 95% of credits in the VCM. Meanwhile, removal credits are rapidly gaining momentum, with $6.5B in purchases to date, outpacing the growth of all other credit types. In the Reductions corner, no less than Renat Heuberger, CEO at Ter…

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Green Claims Directive: what is happening? - with Elisabeth Harding 29:04

2M ago29:04

29:04

One of the world's first regulations to fight corporate greenwashing is on the final stretch. Or is it? The final trilogue, the negotiations between the three EU institutions, was pushed back to June 23rd but was ultimately cancelled. A push by the German government and the conservative EPP group in Parliament has led the policy process off the rai…

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Aligning the VCM with Government Policy - with Alexia Kelly 29:15

2M ago29:15

29:15

Should the VCM shape or follow government policy? The Voluntary Carbon Market is at a crossroads as governments ramp up climate ambition and explore carbon markets. What would a genuine alignment between VCM and government policy look like? What are the risks and opportunities? How can the VCM support both national and global net-zero goals? To hel…

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The world's first durable CDR transaction under the Paris Agreement - with Veronika Elgart 26:58

2M ago26:58

26:58

The Paris Agreement's carbon markets could be worth up to $250 billion annually and reduce or remove gigatons of CO2. But how do we operationalise it? How can countries start trading durable removals under the Paris Agreement’s Article 6.2 mechanism? Norway and Switzerland have just agreed on the first durable removals transaction under this framew…

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The Giga Ten Episode #7 June 2025 21:47

2M ago21:47

21:47

In the 7th Episode of The Giga Ten, a discussion with Sebastian Manhart, we get into how *little* funding CDR gets if one considers the funds allocated to the whole green transition, even though many people assume otherwise. We get through other pressing topics, like the importance of keeping the EU-ETS tech neutral, SO important. Watch or listen t…

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A European CDR Purchasing Programme 26:57

3M ago26:57

26:57

A European CDR Purchasing Programme for Permanent Carbon Removal? Sounds too good to be true? Well, it may become a reality soon. On May 21st, the European Commission held a dedicated workshop on “A Purchasing Programme for CRCF Permanent Carbon Removal Credits”. As stated in its own excellent pre-read, Europe will need to fund CDR with up to €6 bi…

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Public Subsidies + Carbon Credits: The winning combo? - with Erik Rylander 25:40

3M ago25:40

25:40

Many projects want to blend public funding with revenue from voluntary carbon markets as carbon removal scales up. Meanwhile, governments have different approaches to it. And sceptics keep questioning whether it makes sense in the first place - what about additionality, corresponding adjustments, and real climate impact? We’re excited to welcome Er…

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The Giga Ten Ep 6. May 2025 32:09

3M ago32:09

32:09

In this 6th episode of The Giga Ten we discuss how Microsoft is a huge buyer of removals in the space, how Climeworks might want to respond to that Icelandic paper and other CDR policy mechanisms emerging from the EU. This and much more in the following episode with Sebastian Manhart and Leila Conners.…

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Can we bank on Canada’s new PM to deliver carbon promises? - with Na'im Merchant 27:04

3M ago27:04

27:04

Against all odds, the Liberal Party just won the Canadian general elections. Mark Carney’s party explicitly campaigned to turn Canada into a global leader in carbon dioxide removal. Canada plans to do so by - among other things - extending its investment tax credit to 2035, supporting a broad range of CDR tech, and introducing dedicated CDR targets…

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EU ETS: Is this the most important consultation of the year? 27:43

4M ago27:43

27:43

It's out: the European Commission published a consultation to gather feedback on what the world's largest emission trading system - the EU ETS - should look like after 2031. For carbon removals, integration into the EU ETS represents one of the most promising paths to predictable demand at scale. Whether and how that will happen is still up for deb…

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CO₂: Waste or commodity? - with Rachael Moore 27:00

4M ago27:00

27:00

Are we scrubbing the smokestacks and skies of a waste gas, or creating a valuable resource for a net-zero world? As carbon management technologies like CCS, CCU, DACCS, and BECCS advance, policymakers and markets are narrowing down on CO₂’s role. In this CDR Policy Scoop, we dive into: What happens if we treat CO₂ only as waste? ⁠What is the real p…

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CBAM: The carbon removal catalyst? - with Dan Maleski 27:50

4M ago27:50

27:50

How can the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism help scale carbon dioxide removal? Designed to put a price on imported carbon and prevent leakage, but could it also act as a catalyst for scaling CDR? This CDR Scoop cuts through the noise to explore this critical link. We're digging deep to uncover the potential synergies and challenges. To ensu…

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The Giga Ten Episode #5 April 2025 30:06

4M ago30:06

30:06

In this 5th episode of The Giga Ten we discuss how Germany and Denmark are setting CDR benchmarks as well as standards. The Global South has a seat at the table and ERW and the carbon molecule is complex! This and much more in the following episode with Sebastian Manhart and Leila Conners. Thank you for listening! Relevant Links: https://tracker.ca…

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SHOWDOWN: Biochar vs Direct Air Capture - with Martin Freimüller 26:08

4M ago26:08

26:08

A fun, interactive, first-of-a-kind live debate with over 1000 attendees signed up. We picked two real heavyweights: DAC, the poster-child of CDR, with over 200 DAC companies founded to date. On the other hand, biochar, responsible for a whopping 84% of all durable CDR deliveries to date. In the DAC corner: Martin Freimüller is the Co-Founder and C…

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Rethinking Net-Zero: Do international credits help or harm? 24:19

5M ago24:19

24:19

On March 31st, EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra floated various ideas for how Europe’s expected 90% emission reduction target for 2040 could be achieved. One of them: letting EU countries purchase United Nations Article 6 credits to meet EU's 2040 climate target. Similar suggestions are currently being proposed by the upcoming German governme…

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The GigaTen Episode #4 March 2025 25:30

5M ago25:30

25:30

Carbon Gap has launched a funding tracker for CDR in Europe which is mighty helpful given it is hard to find pockets of funding for this important innovation. In this 4th episode of The Giga Ten Sebastian Manhart and I discuss this as well as the need to grow CDR companies post pilot. The rest of the conversation covers policies that emerged recent…

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SBTi: Step forward or missed opportunity for CDR? - with Robert Höglund 27:43

5M ago27:43

27:43

8,000 companies have emission reduction targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. Only around 50 of them have so far purchased durable carbon removal. Imagine if all of them purchased CDR? The impact could be >50Mt of demand. Per year. Starting from 2030. On March 18th, the SBTi released the draft net-zero standard 2.0 which marks …

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CORSIA vs ETS: What will actually clean up aviation? 28:25

5M ago28:25

28:25

Aviation is responsible for almost 1Gt of CO2 emissions, or 2.5% of global emissions. Up to 4% when accounting for non-CO2 climate warming effects. And demand is only going up: 3-4% year-on-year. Aviation is also notoriously hard to decarbonise: most hope is placed on sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). Given there will always be considerable residua…

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Will the EU need twice as much CDR as expected? 27:47

6M ago27:47

27:47

Will the EU need 2x as much CDR? The highly anticipated 333-page milestone report on carbon removal by Europe's Scientific Advisory Board has landed, promising to be the most comprehensive analysis of CDR to date. Does this heavyweight report deliver the strategic guidance needed to shape effective EU CDR policy? What other crucial insights does it…

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CDR at DoE is dead... or is it? - with Noah Deich 29:10

6M ago29:10

29:10

In February 2025, all probationary contract staff at the Department of Energy were terminated, including the most incredibly talented and experienced people who had turned the U.S. into a CDR powerhouse over the previous years. What does this - alongside the freezing of IRA and BIL funds - mean for CDR in the U.S. moving forward? How will DAC Hubs …

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CDR into the EU ETS: Boom or doom? 28:05

6M ago28:05

28:05

Emission trading systems (ETS) are often touted as the largest potential source of demand for carbon dioxide removal (CDR), providing a large, predictable market worth billions. The EU ETS is by far the largest and most successful in the world, with its market size around 900 billion EUR and carbon price climbing over 80 EUR/t. 2025 is the time whe…

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The GigaTen Episode #3 February 2025 26:44

6M ago26:44

26:44

Sebastian Manhart updates us on the CDR (carbon dioxide removal) industry in conversation with Leila Conners. The GigaTen is a newsletter that Sebastian posts monthly and Leila thought it would be an interesting conversation to update monthly as well. We think that CDR is important and a unifying pathway as it creates jobs, proposes new ways to man…

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Like-For-Like: The policy silver bullet? - with Robert Höglund 27:16

6M ago27:16

27:16

In carbon removal policy circles, three simple words - like-for-like - seem to come up more and more. It is a simple and obvious concept that is actually incredibly complex and misunderstood. Robert Höglund joins Eve Tamme and Sebastian Manhart in exploring like-for-like as a concept, why it is becoming a core pillar of CDR policy design and what n…

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How will the EU fund CDR? 26:46

7M ago26:46

26:46

On January 28th, the European Commission hosted a long-awaited workshop on public funding for permanent CDR. Expectations were high - maybe too high? What came out of it and what is lined up for funding of CDR in Europe? Both Eve (in person) and Sebastian (remote) attended, and are bringing you all the insights you need to know. Tune in to find out…

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Trump’s Inauguration: What will happen to CDR in the US? - with Erin Burns 27:21

7M ago27:21

27:21

Donald J. Trump has been sworn in as the 47th President of the United States. As soon as he took office, executive orders were signed affecting all areas of the U.S. society and economy, including climate and CDR. Joined by Erin Burns, the Executive Director of the U.S.’ leading CDR nonprofit Carbon180, Eve Tamme and Sebastian Manhart try to make s…

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The GigaTen Episode #2 January 2025 30:48

7M ago30:48

30:48

Sebastian Manhart updates us on the CDR (carbon dioxide removal) industry in conversation with Leila Conners. The GigaTen is a newsletter that Sebastian posts monthly and Leila thought it would be an interesting conversation to update monthly as well. We think that CDR is important and a unifying pathway as it creates jobs, proposes new ways to man…

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The GigaTen Episode #1 December 2024 32:54

7M ago32:54

32:54

Sebastian Manhart updates us on the CDR (carbon dioxide removal) industry in conversation with Leila Conners. The GigaTen is a newsletter that Sebastian posts monthly and Leila thought it would be an interesting conversation to update monthly as well. We think that CDR is important and a unifying pathway as it creates jobs, proposes new ways to man…

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Our 2025 CDR Policy Predictions 28:03

7M ago28:03

28:03

What will be the main themes and developments this year? 2025 will likely be the biggest year for CDR policy to date. Eve Tamme and Sebastian Manhart compared and discussed their top 5 predictions, covering national, regional, and global CDR policy. Tune in to get to know what to look out for in 2025. Show notes: Eve Tamme: LinkedIn and Website Seb…

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The EU's 2040 Climate Target(s): What to expect? 29:45

7M ago29:45

29:45

The EU’s 2040 Climate Target(s): hope in difficult times or empty promises? In 2025, the European Union will attempt to formalise a binding target for emission reduction in 2040. This would complement the existing 55% reduction target for 2030 and a climate neutrality target for 2050. As of today, the European Commission plans to recommend an ambit…

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CRCF: Did the EU get it right? 29:11

7M ago29:11

29:11

The CRCF - the gold standard for CDR certification? Some see it as the world's most important CDR policy, others just as an empty shell with no clear impact. In this CDR Policy Scoop, Eve Tamme and Sebastian Manhart dive into this hot topic they both feel very passionately about. Tune in to hear where it currently stands, what some of the sticking …

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US Election: What does it mean for carbon removal? - with Jason Grillo 28:24

7M ago28:24

28:24

What will the Trump victory mean for CDR? Speculation is rife - is this the end of CDR in the U.S., a blessing in disguise, or simply not that important? In this CDR Policy Scoop, Eve Tamme and Sebastian Manhart are joined by the one and only Jason Grillo to dig into what this Republican trifecta of control over the White House, House of Congress, …

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COP29: CDR’s big moment? 28:19

7M ago28:19

28:19

Will COP29 be the breakthrough COP for CDR? What a start! Article 6.4 standards were adopted on day 1 of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. What does this actually mean, and what else can we expect? In this CDR Policy Scoop, Eve Tamme and Sebastian Manhart try to make sense of a topic that has generated a lot of excitement but also raised some serious ques…

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Welcome to the CDR Policy Scoop 4:35

7M ago4:35

4:35

The CDR Policy Scoop, where we unpack carbon removal policy in 30 minutes or less. Punchy, unfiltered, to the point discussions on all hot developments in the sector. Listen in to go several levels deeper and beyond the analysis that you won't find anywhere else. Enjoy. Find out more: Eve Tamme: LinkedIn and Website Sebastian Manhart: LinkedIn and …