The Carbon Curve Na’im Merchant

Episode 37 is with Lukas May, Head of Policy and Expansion at Isometric
The traditional carbon offset market is riddled with problems. We've seen reporting on this from The Guardian, Bloomberg, and other media outlets. Researchers at CarbonPlan have also done some excellent work exposing just how broken some of these systems really are. As we build a new carbon removal industry, we now have an opportunity to build trust in a high integrity carbon removal market.
One company, Isometric, is working to figure that out, building scientific integrity, transparency, and incentive alignment into their business model. The company just launched its own carbon registry this week, and the question is, can the company avoid the same pitfalls of the legacy actors in the traditional carbon offset market?
In this episode, Na’im and Lukas discuss:
* Isometric’s mission and why trust is the central job of scaling carbon removal;
* Definitions of the terms standards, methodologies, and protocols;
* Ways that Isometric’s products improve on incumbent models that exist today;
* How Isometric addresses problem around misaligned incentive in the market today;
* How Isometric defines quality;
* Isometric’s approach in developing protocols and partnering with the wider community;
* The role of policy in helping build trust and rigor;
* Alternatives to countries’ building their own methodologies
Relevant Links:
* Launch of Isometric Registry
* Isometric receives ICROA Conditional Endorsement
* Isometric Website
* Isometric Registry
* Isometric Protocols
* Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchase Pilot Prize

About Lukas
Lukas May is the Head of Policy and Expansion at Isometric. He has spent over a decade working between government and start-ups. He was most recently a Senior Civil Servant in the UK Government, where he led post-Brexit trade negotiations in the Asia-Pacific region. Before that he led international expansion at fintech start-up Wise, and he started his career at the UK financial services regulator.
About Isometric
Isometric is a new kind of registry on a mission to ensure the transition to carbon removal happens responsibly and fast. As carbon markets mature, buyers are rapidly shifting their attention and purchases from low-quality, temporary carbon offsets to high-quality, durable carbon removals. The Isometric Standard sets the world’s most stringent set of rules for removing carbon, raising the bar for scientific rigor, transparency, and incentive alignment. The Isometric Registry provides a permanent audit trail for all credits issued by Isometric, allowing the information behind every credit to be reviewed and scrutinized. Isometric was founded in 2022 by CEO Eamon Jubbawy, who previously co-founded Onfido. The company is based in London and New York and has raised over $25 million from Lowercarbon Capital, Plural, and more.
This episode was created and published by Na’im Merchant. Episode production and content support provided by Tank Chen.
Na’im Merchant is the co-founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada, a policy initiative focused on scaling carbon removal in Canada. He is also a policy fellow with Elemental Excelerator. He previously ran carbon removal consulting practice Carbon Curve, and publishes The Carbon Curve newsletter and podcast. Every two weeks, Na’im will release a short interview with individuals advancing the policies, technologies, and collective action needed to scale up carbon removal around the world.
Tank Chen is a carbon removal advocate based in Taiwan whose focus is on communicating the importance of CDR to policy makers, corporate leaders, and the broader public through education, communications, and policy advocacy.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast app or subscribe via The Carbon Curve newsletter here. If you’d like to get in touch with Na’im, you can reach out via LinkedIn.


This is a public episode. If you wo

Episode 36 is with Nikki Batchelor of XPRIZE and Ben Rubin of Carbon Business Council.
Carbon removal can be a force for good - not just in creating lasting climate benefits - but in delivering social, economic, and ecological benefits as well. Indeed, the future of carbon removal depends on that promise playing out. But it isn’t a foregone conclusion that large scale carbon removal is uncompromisingly and unequivocally good for people and planet. As we build this new industry - an intentional approach to its responsible deployment is absolutely necessary. Today, Na’im speaks with Nikki Batchelor and Ben Rubin about the recently launched Carbon Dioxide Removal Responsible Deployment Training (CDR RDT).
In this episode, Na’im, Nikki, and Ben discuss:
* Achievements the Carbon Business Council has made since launch;
* The XPRIZE Carbon Removal Competition and the final stage of the competition;
* Findings from XPRIZE’s Carbon Removal Innovation Landscape and the 2024 Outlook report;
* The meaning and importance of deploying carbon removal responsibly;
* Carbon Business Council’s Responsible Deployment Training program;
* Embedding environmental justice and community engagement approaches into XPRIZE competition criteria;
* The adaption of key principles of the training program to a broader global context;
* The implication of the framework for stakeholders beyond carbon removal tech developers; and
* Upcoming announcements and initiatives from XPRIZE and Carbon Business Council.

Relevant Links:
* Breaking Ground: Guidance for Carbon Removal Companies and Funders on Responsible Project Deployment
* CDR Innovation Landscape and 2024 Outlook
* From the Ground Up: Recommendations for Building an Environmentally Just Carbon Removal Industry
* CDR RDT, A Training Course & Suite of Foundational Resources for the Responsible Deployment of Carbon Removal  
* CDR RDT: Carbon Dioxide Removal Responsible Deployment Trainings
* Responsible & Regional Deployment of Carbon Removal: A Pacific Northwest Symposium
* Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR): Issue Brief
* Sources of opposition to renewable energy projects in the United States
About Nikki:
Nikki Batchelor is the Executive Director for the $100M XPRIZE Carbon Removal, a competition supported by the Musk Foundation to drive innovation, market adoption, and responsible deployment of carbon removal solutions. In this capacity she oversees program operations, develops partnerships, and leads strategic initiatives on topics such as environmental justice and investor engagement, including the Circular Carbon Network that provides market insights for the growing carbon tech and carbon removal sectors. Nikki also supports XPRIZE’s work across the Energy & Climate Domain and previously managed operations and impact programs for the $20M NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE from 2015-2021. She also serves on the Carbon Business Council Board of Directors and Puro.Earth Advisory Board.
About XPRIZE:
XPRIZE is an established global leader in designing, launching, and executing large scale competitions to solve humanity’s greatest challenges. The XPRIZE unique model democratizes innovation by incentivizing crowd-sourced, scientifically viable solutions to create a more equitable and abundant future for all.
About Ben:
Ben Rubin is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Carbon Business Council. Ben serves on the Environmental Technologies Trade Advisory Committee at the U.S. Department of Commerce, a federal appointment position. He is a Research Fellow with the Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal. 
Ben has been advancing climate action throughout his career, leading initiatives for companies, accelerators, governments and nonprofits. His work has galvanized billions of dollars in climate infrastructure funding, passed legislation, and reached hundreds of millions of people through media campaigns.
About Carbon Business Council:
Carbon Business Council (CO2BC), a member-driven an

Episode 35 is with Anastasia Pavlovic, CEO of Eion and Elliot Chang, Co-founder and CSO of Eion.
Today Na’im speaks with Anastasia Pavlovic, CEO of Eion and Elliot Chang, CSO of Eion. Enhanced rock weathering (ERW) is an area of carbon removal that I’ve been really intrigued by. When I think about ERW, I think about high potential for scale, benefits to farmers, and potentially challenging MRV.
So 35 episodes into this podcast, I’m finally doing an episode on ERW. Today I’ll be speaking with Eion’s co-founder, alongside a newly minted CEO, to educate me about what has evolved in the ERW space over the last few years and what the future has in store for this promising but still nascent carbon removal technology.
About Anastasia Pavlovic
Anastasia Pavlovic is the CEO of Eion, which she joined in December 2023 bringing deep expertise in global operations and software with a passion for driving global change through local impact. Before joining Eion, Pavlovic led operations, commercialization, and growth for the Agoro Carbon Alliance, which works with farmers to sequester carbon in soil. Prior to the Alliance, Pavlovic commercialized software solutions in the US and Canada for Yara's Digital Farming organization. She has worked for venture-backed software companies scaling agtech and security products around the world. From West Virginia, Pavlovic holds dual B.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Systems Engineering. 
About Elliot Chang
Elliot Chang is Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer at Eion. With over ten years of research experience in ion interactions with abiotic and biotic surfaces found in both subsurface terrestrial and marine systems, Elliot focuses on the research and development of technology at Eion. Elliot provides a unique perspective on technology and innovation through his work in academia, national laboratories, and industry-based companies. Elliot has completed postdoctoral research positions at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where he studied the physio-chemical properties of swelling clays in soils, and at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he developed new computational modelling approaches for radionuclide and metal transport in soils and nuclear waste repositories. He received his Ph.D. at UC Berkeley in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, studying rare earth element interactions with bacteria in engineered bioreactor and natural soil systems. He received his Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering at Princeton University with a certificate in Sustainable Energy. Elliot is a member of the American Geophysical Union, American Chemical Society, and Sigma Xi Honor Society. 
About Eion
Eion is a carbon removal company responsibly scaling enhanced rock weathering (ERW) on agricultural lands. It holds an industry-first patent for directly measuring the carbon removed by mineral weathering in soils using immobile trace elements. Combining scientific rigor with agricultural know-how, Eion fits into routine farming practices to unlock scale without compromising safety and rigor. That includes using olivine, a naturally abundant mineral that balances soil pH while efficiently absorbing carbon dioxide, and relying on routine soil samples and standard equipment to measure carbon removal and monitor soil conditions. By working with the agricultural system, Eion is on track to deliver 10 million tons of permanent carbon removal annually starting in 2030 while creating stable jobs in rural communities. 
In this episode, Na’im, Anna, and Elliot discuss:
* Eion’s beginning and journey thus far;
* Anna’s new role as the CEO and her experience getting into CDR from a background in agtech;
* Eion’s approach to enhanced rock weathering
* Eion’s ‘direct measurement approach’ to MRV;
* The different minerals used in ERW and the advantage of using olivine for Eion;
* The scalability and potential of ERW in reaching the scale required;
* The constraints in s

Episode 34 is with Phil De Luna, Chief Carbon Scientist and Head of Engineering at Deep Sky. 
In this episode, Na’im speaks to Phil De Luna, Deep Sky’s Chief Carbon Scientists and Head of Engineering. Na’im and Phil cover a broad range of what Deep Sky - a carbon dioxide removal (CDR) project developer that raised C$75M last year - has done to date, how they think about new technology adoption, why Canada is well suited for large scale carbon removal, and the policies that would help advance their work. And we get a few hints of what's in store for the rest of 2024.
In this episode, Na’im and Phil discuss:
* Phil’s journey into CDR and the reasons he joined Deep Sky;
* Deep Sky’s philosophy on removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere;
* Deep Sky’s criteria for choosing partners and how partnerships work;
* The reasons for the company’s focusing on Quebec and Canada;
* The exciting innovations in carbon removal;
* Deep Sky’s partnership with Isometric and their approach to MRV;
* Opportunities and challenges to large scale deployment, and the importance of community engagement;
* Different kinds of policies and actions from the Canadian government that could help develop and scale carbon removal technologies; and
* Deep Sky’s plan for 2024.
Relevant Links:
* “Why Canada Is Poised To Become A Carbon Removal Superpower” (Forbes)
* “The Race Is On: 5 Steps To Rapidly Develop Carbon Removal Technology” (Forbes)
* “Why 2023 Was A Breakout Year In Carbon Removals” (Forbes)
* Canada’s Investment Tax Credit for Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (Gov’t of Canada)
* Deep Sky Website
* Isometric Website
* Carbon Removal Canada Website
* Ready to Removal: A Decisive Decade for Canadian Leadership in Carbon Dioxide Removal
About Phil
Phil De Luna is Chief Carbon Scientist and Head of Engineering at Deep Sky, a carbon removals venture building large scale infrastructure to remove CO2 from the atmosphere to reverse climate change. Prior to Deep Sky, Phil led Carbontech at McKinsey & Company’s sustainability practice. He is a Governor General Gold Medal winning scientist, ranked in the top 0.1% in the world in his field, a mentor at Creative Destruction Lab, and chair of Carbon Management Canada. Phil was the youngest-ever Director at the National Research Council where he built and led a $57M R&D program developing disruptive technologies to decarbonize Canada. He was on the founding team of CERT Technologies, a carbontech startup and finalist in the $20M Carbon XPRIZE. He is a Member of the College of the Royal Society of Canada, an adjunct Professor of Materials Science & Engineering at the University of Toronto, a former Member of Parliament candidate, a Globe & Mail Top 50 Changemaker, and a Forbes Top 30 Under 30.
About Deep Sky
Deep Sky is the world's first carbon removal project developer deploying the best carbon capture technology from around the world under one roof. Tech agnostic, Deep Sky brings together the most promising direct air and ocean capture technologies from around the world. Powered by renewable energy, Deep Sky's facilities are strategically located in Quebec, a region with an abundance of hydroelectric power, immense wind power potential and a vast territory with the rich geological makeup required for carbon storage. Deep Sky will bring the largest supply of high quality carbon credits to the market and commercialize carbon removal and storage solutions like never before.
This episode was created and published by Na’im Merchant. Episode production and content support provided by Tank Chen.
Na’im Merchant is the co-founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada, a policy initiative focused on scaling carbon removal in Canada. He is also a policy fellow with Elemental Excelerator. He previously ran carbon removal consulting practice Carbon Curve, and publishes The Carbon Curve newsletter and podcast. Every two weeks, Na’im will release a short intervi

Episode 33 is with Dr. Julio Friedmann, Chief Scientist at Carbon Direct, and with Tim Bushman, Director of Policy and Research at Carbon Removal Canada.
Today Na’im speaks with Dr. Julio Friedmann and Tim Bushman about Canada's potential to scale up carbon dioxide removal (CDR). Late last year, Carbon Removal Canada released a report on Canada's readiness to scale carbon removal and the policies needed to unlock its potential. Today, Na’im speaks to two leading experts on carbon removal's future in Canada: Tim Bushman, who co authored the report and who has surveyed the Canadian landscape to understand the carbon removal potential here; and Julio Friedman, Chief Scientist at Carbon Direct, a world renowned expert on carbon removal and related industries, who was kind enough to review the report and has been a huge inspiration to so many in the carbon removal field.
Tim and Julio will talk about the global CDR landscape, trends and developments to watch, Canada's advantages in scaling CDR, the policies currently in place, like an investment tax credit and a carbon management strategy, and the additional policies we will need to succeed in this new industry.
In this episode, Na’im, Julio, and Tim discuss:
* The current global CDR landscape, major developments and trends in the industry;
* The important use cases and benefits for scaling CDR;
* The scale of CDR needed for individual countries to achieve net-zero emissions, the steps required to get there, and the need to start building capacity now;
* The potential leading role that Canada can play in scaling the global CDR industry;
* Reasons governments should support the carbon removal industry and the ancillary benefits for doing so;
* The most important near-term policy actions to support the sector, including a government procurement program, innovation investments, and standard-setting; and
* Challenges and opportunities going forward.
Relevant Links:
* Ready to Removal: A Decisive Decade for Canadian Leadership in Carbon Dioxide Removal (Carbon Removal Canada, 2023)
* Criteria for High-Quality Carbon Dioxide Removal (2023)
* Capturing the opportunity: A Carbon Management Strategy for Canada (2023)
* British Columbia’s Low Carbon Fuels Act
* Carbon Direct’s website
* Carbon Removal Canada’s website
About Dr. Julio Friedmann
Dr. Friedmann recently served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fossil Energy at the Department of Energy where he was responsible for DOE’s R&D program in advanced fossil energy systems, carbon capture, and storage (CCS), CO2 utilization, and CO2 removal. More recently, he was a Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia. He has held positions at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, including Chief Energy Technologist. Dr. Friedmann is one of the most widely known and authoritative experts in the U.S. on carbon removal (CO2 drawdown from the air and oceans), CO2 conversion and use (carbon-to-value), hydrogen, industrial decarbonization, and carbon capture and sequestration.
About Carbon Direct
Carbon Direct helps organisations turn industry-leading carbon science into action through its end-to-end platform and advisory services. Their team consists of over 40 leading scientific advisors who have collectively published over 1,000 peer-reviewed papers on carbon measurement, management, and removal and engaged in meaningful climate action from restoration and conservation through to carbon project design and innovative tool development for project monitoring. This scientific foundation is enhanced by a broader team of over 20 carbon market advisors drawing upon finance, consulting, and software expertise. Carbon Direct’s scientific and market base spans decarbonisation frameworks and strategies, emissions tracking, engineered, hybrid, and nature-based solutions, and cross-cutting issues such as governance and equity in carbon markets. 
About Tim Bushman
Tim Bushman is the Dire

Episode 32 is with Na’im Merchant and Rahima Dosani.
Building off of the special episode they did a year ago, Na’im and Rahima are back to reflect on all things carbon removal in 2023 and what’s in store for 2024. They also get into launching Carbon Removal Canada, the role Canada can play in scaling carbon removal (CDR), managing changing professional demands, and other personal questions that Na’im was clearly not prepared for!
We hope you enjoy the episode and wish everyone a happy 2024!
About Rahima Dosani
Rahima Dosani is the Director of Strategy, Learning, and Innovation at Global Health Visions, a woman-owned and operated company helping to improve access to global health products and services in low-income countries. She previously worked for the Center for Innovation and Impact at USAID and the Clinton Health Access Initiative in Myanmar and Malawi after doing strategy consulting in New York City. Rahima holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from the Harvard Business School, and a masters in public health from the Harvard School of Public Health. She spends her spare time teaching yoga and being a private chef, and recently graciously agreed to relocate to Toronto, Canada with Na’im.
Special note: A huge thanks to Tank Chen for his support with The Carbon Curve podcast over the last few months and I’m excited about the next set of episodes we’re working on together. If you’re interested in collaborating with a brilliant and dedicated individual on your carbon removal company or project, do reach out to him on LinkedIn!
This episode was created and published by Na’im Merchant. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely Na’im Merchant’s and do not reflect those of any other individual or entity.
Na’im Merchant is the co-founder and Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada, a policy initiative focused on scaling carbon removal in Canada. He is also a policy fellow with Elemental Excelerator. He previously ran carbon removal consulting practice Carbon Curve, and publishes The Carbon Curve newsletter and podcast. Every two weeks, Na’im will release a short interview with individuals advancing the policies, technologies, and collective action needed to scale up carbon removal around the world.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast on your favorite podcast app or subscribe via The Carbon Curve newsletter here. If you’d like to get in touch with Na’im, you can reach out via LinkedIn.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carboncurve.substack.com