
The CDR Primer
Read the CDR Primer.
Released in 2021, the CDR Primer is the collaborative product of dozens of the world’s leading carbon dioxide removal experts. It’s a comprehensive survey of CDR science and policy for a variety of readers, including those new to the subject. It’s a must read in the OpenAir community.
New to CDR?
- FACT SHEET: Carbon Dioxide RemovalFrom the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Carbon Management.
- The Where, What & When of CDRExcellent 10-minute overview by ASU’s Dr. Stephanie Arcusa that offers a clear, science-based rationale for carbon dioxide removal (CDR); a breakdown of the important distinctions between CDR, carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), and carbon utilization (CU); and framework for determining high-quality, ‘good’ CDR.
- Removing Carbon from the Atmosphere Must be Part of Climate Change PolicyAn Essay by leading CDR academic luminaries Evvan Morton, Elizabeth Graffy, Klaus Lackner and Brad Allenby.
- Is it Feasible to Remove Enough CO2 from the Air? A 2019 interview with Stephen Pacala, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton University, in Yale 360.
- Slowing Climate Change with Sewage Treatment from the Skies An essay by sci-fi novelist Kim Stanley Robinson in Bloomberg.
- What is DACC?An interactive created by OpenAir members that explains how a simple moisture swing Direct Air Carbon Capture unit works
This Is CDR
OpenAir’s very own weekly webinar series featuring leading experts and entrepreneurs sharing insights into specific CDR technologies and approaches. Hosted by collectors Toby Bryce and Megha Raghavan, and live tweeted by Nikhil Neelakantan.
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CDR Deep Dives
- CDRLAW.orgAn incredible repository of scholarly papers, policies and laws related to all forms and facets of CDR. Launched and curated by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia University Law School.
- Negative Emissions Technologies and Reliable SequestrationA massive 2019 meta study produced by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences that assesses the techno economic challenges and opportunities of all major categories of CDR. Free PDF.
- State of the Science: Carbon Dioxide Removal’s Role in Achieving Paris Agreement’s Targets. A clear distillation from Ben Rubin and Jennifer Brown, produced in October 2021 by the Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy at the American University.
- Clearing the Air A comprehensive report produced by the Energy Futures Initiative in 2019. It clearly breaks down why CDR is necessary, and lays out a federal policy agenda to accelerate its growth.
- After Geoengineering: Climate Tragedy, Repair and RestorationProfessor Holly Jean Buck’s widely read imaginative analysis of different potential CDR futures.
- How Solar Energy Became Cheap: A Model for Low-Carbon InnovationProf. Gregory Nemet’s research and analysis of the technical, social and policy history that produced low cost solar has been a massive influence on how the OpenAir community approaches , interprets and advocates for CDR. Final section reviews DAC specifically. The book website provides a good overview of the main themes and ideas explored in the book.
- The Carbon CurveOpenAir member Na’im Merchant’s regular substack commentary on various subjects related to CDR and carbon markets.
Great CDR Orgs, Networks and Academic Programs
- AirMinersThe original CDR network and entrepreneurship hub!
- Foundation for Climate Restoration (F4CR)An amazing global advocacy network focused on CDR.
- The Open Source Hardware AssociationNot CDR but an org near and dear to our R&D community’s heart. They certify open source hardware projects and put on a wonderful annual conference, among other things.
- The Climate Change AcademyJohn Sanchez’s excellent CDRT education site, diving into the technical aspects of CDR science and technology.
- Carbon GapA new advocacy organization bringing urgent focus to CDR policy imperatives in Europe.
- The Carbon PlanData, research and explainers on CDR targets, tech and measurement methods.
- The Center for Negative Carbon Emissions(Arizona State University) An Interdisciplinary policy and science research center focused on direct air carbon capture and other forms of CDR. Co-founded by DACC “godfather” and OpenAir inspirer Dr. Klaus Lackner.
- Global CO2 Initiative (University of Michigan) A global umbrella organization convening and accelerating CDR research, development and deployment.
- The Negative Emissions PlatformA UK-based think and do tank raising public and policymaker awareness of CDR
- The Carbon Removal CentreA UK-based collaborative of academics and entrepreneurs focused on CDR acceleration.
- The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law (Columbia University Law School) A research center focused on legal and regulatory aspects of climate policy, including CDR.
- The Institute for Carbon Removal Law & Policy
(American University) – Research and educational initiatives focused on global and national CDR law and policy. - Solid Carbon
(Oceans Canada/ UBC / UVic) – A Canadian research and development collaborative focused on deployment of off-shore CDR and storage.
Global Climate Justice and the Moral Imperative of Carbon Dioxide Removal
- Climate Reparations: The Case for Carbon Removal.A stunning moral argument for CDR made by David Wallace-Wells in New York Magazine.
- How to Decolonize the Atmosphere
A powerful essay by Holly Jean Buck, PhD. - Just and Equitable Carbon Removal with Dr. Holly Jean Buck – a This Is CDR webinar.
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Put climate reparations at the top of every wealthy country’s agenda.A forceful opinion piece by Mexican climate activist Maria Reyes that puts forward the moral and science-based arguments for CDR.
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The US Has A Climate Debt To Pay And My Native Land Of Brazil Shouldn’t Carry The Burden Alone.An excellent and direct articulation of how carbon removal fits into the global climate justice picture by Brazilian activist Adri Maffioletti.
- The Climate Crisis Requires Every Tool we Got, Including Carbon Removal An op-ed by Jasmine, Sanders, PhD, Executive Director or Our Planet.
- “Net Zero Not Enough” (video)A message from Indian Power Minister R.K. Singh.
- An African Case for Carbon RemovalPolitical philosopher and Georgetown professor Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò. PhD’s writings on CDR from the perspective of the global south have been influential in the OpenAir community. This is a great read representing some of his recurring arguments and ideas.
- The Global South and Reimagining of Climate Futures (webinar)A panel discussion with Prof. Táíwò and legendary science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson, hosted by Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy, American University.
- Why a political philosopher is thinking about Carbon Removal An Interview with Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò PhD in The Atlantic.
- Carbon removal can and must be part of the climate justice agenda An editorial by Carbon180’s Vanessa Suarez in the Hill (May 2021).
- Carbon removal is how we make climate change fair Excellent commentary by econ blogger Noah Smith.
Direct Air Carbon Capture
- Direct Air Capture A fact sheet from carbon180.
- Can carbon-capture startups make it big with small-scale tech Reporting from Canary Media on DACC’s modular, distributed turn – a development of great interest and debate within the OpenAir community.
- Direct Air Capture Deep Dive (Webinar) An Airminer’s webinar with CDR living legend Jennifer Wilcox, PhD.
- Direct Air Capture of Carbon Dioxide – ICEF Roadmap 2018By Dr. Julio Friedmann, Columbia University Center for Global Energy Policy.
- Capturing Leadership: Policies for the U.S. to Advance Direct Air Capture Technology. An excellent U.S. policy agenda white paper from The Rhodium Group.
- Carbon Purchase Agreements, Factories, and Supply-Chain Innovation: What Will It Take to Scale-Up Modular Direct Air Capture Technology to a Gigatonne Scale.
By OpenAir super-member and DACC entrepreneur David Izikowitz in Frontiers in Climate. - Early Deployment of Direct Air Capture with Dedicated Geologic Storage.By Steve Capanna, Jake Higdon and Maureen Lackner at the Environmental Defense Fund.
- Direct Air Capture of CO2: A Response to Meet the Global Climate Targets.By Mihrimah Ozkan, PhD.
Ideas, Thinkers & Orgs that Inspire the OpenAir Approach.
- The Journal of Peer Production
The first and only academic journal focused on peer, crowd, and network-based production. - The NYU GovernanceLab
A premier global research center focused on open-policymaking methods. - Elinor Ostrom – Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action
Ostrom’s classic text on commons-based management, and the intellectual root of so much subsequent theory on the commons, as well as non-market, network-based organization. - Haragreeva Rao – Market Rebels: How Activists Make or Break Radical Innovations
A little known but powerful historical analysis of the role of informal activist networks in driving – or disabling – new innovations. A big influence on early OpenAir thinking. - Yochai Benkler-Peer Production & CollaborationOne of the most influential theorists of commons-based peer production. This is a great intro to his main ideas.
- Yochai Benkler, with Aaron Shaw and Benjamin Mako Hill-Peer Production: A Form of Collective IntelligenceGood complement to “Peer Production & Collaboration”.
- Yochai Benkler – The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets & FreedomBenkler’s magnum opus on “commons-based peer-production”.
- Yochai Benkler – The Penguin and the Leviathan: How Cooperation Triumphs over Self InterestAn accessible intro to network-based production for a general audience.
- Clay Shirky – Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing without OrganizationsExcellent, very readable commentary on the productive and creative power of distributed, voluntary networks.
- Clay Shirky – Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age
This sequel to HCE further develops and updates ideas through an activist lens - Charles Leadbeater –We-Think: Mass Innovation, Not Mass Production
An influential book about peer-production grounded in real world examples. - Jane McGonigal – Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World
OpenAir was co-founded by a game designer, and games are an important influence on our community’s organization and work. McGonigal’s book is an inspired manifesto on how game design principles and player culture can influence activism and change. - Beth Simone Noveck – Smart Citizens, Smarter State: The Technologies of Expertise and the Future of GoverningNoveck is the director of NYU’s GovLab and a leading thinking on open and crowd-based policy development and governance. Her lab’s work has inspired OpenAir’s approach to collective policy-making, and in particular our Collective Intelligence Relay method.
- D. Jemielniak & A. Przegalinska – Collaborative SocietyGreat survey of how the internet is reshaping our collective collaborative power across many different domains.
- A. McAfee & E. Brynjolfsson – Machine, Platform, Crowd: Harnessing our Digital Future.
A fantastic, highly readable analysis of digital collectivism and production. - B. Bond & Z. Exley – Rules for Revolutionaries: How Big Organizing Can Change Everything. A guide to decentralized, volunteer-led organizing by two veterans of the 2016 Bernie Sanders campaign.
- Ramez Naam –The Infinite Resource: The Power of Ideas on a Finite Planet.An inspiring manifesto about humanity’s infinite potential to solve problems with new knowledge.
- David Deutsch – The Beginning of Infinity. One of OpenAir’s co-founder’s favorite books, and a continuing influence. If you like Naam, you will probably love Deutsch.
- Yuval Noah Harari – Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow.Harari’s instant Sapiens sequel classic is a scary/inspiring meditation on the Anthropocene.