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We’ve made mapping Zarr on the web easier with the release of two new open source packages.

CDR policies must align with a coherent vision of a net-negative world.

We’re releasing Open Climate Risk, a platform which transparently provides present-day and future wildfire risks for buildings across the contiguous United States.

Mapping wildfire risk to buildings.

FAQ for the Open Climate Risk platform

The scientific methods underpinning the Open Climate Risk dataset and map tool.

We collaborated on a new preprint that establishes clearer language for talking about temporal lags in CDR, and shows how ignoring them can drive near-term warming.

Knowing the location of offsets projects enables more robust market oversight. We’ve added geographic information for 500 forest offset projects to OffsetsDB to assist those efforts.

We updated the Compliance Users tool to include the latest available cap-and-trade program data about who used which offsets in 2024.

If Verra cares about quality, they need to clean up their growing supply of excess hydropower credits.

Jeremy reflects on CarbonPlan's first six years, and shares about a moment of growth for the team.

Verra recently acknowledged the existence of millions of excess credits issued to the Kariba REDD+ project. Rather than resolving the issue, Verra’s proposed solution exposes a fundamental structural flaw in its offsets program.

Five years later, we still don’t know the carbon consequences of the 2020 Lionshead Fire.

Both agricultural liming and enhanced weathering spread crushed rocks on fields and have the potential to remove carbon from the atmosphere. We explore how modifying liming for carbon removal works — and whether markets are the best way to fund it.

Offsets provide few climate benefits and cost California hundreds of millions of dollars each year. When lawmakers reauthorize the state’s cap and trade program this fall, they should eliminate the use of offsets.

How we built our platform for research in carbon dioxide removal using open source tools.

Mapping forest carbon offset projects and their intersections with fires.

We’re relaunching our forest offsets tracking tool for the 2025 North American fire season.

We recently held a workshop on accounting for counterfactual liming in enhanced weathering. Attendees agreed the counterfactual must be considered, but for now there is no single best way to do so.

We collaborated with [C]Worthy to build a tool that will make it easier to see where a marine carbon removal approach called direct ocean removal is most efficient.

Mapping the efficiency of direct ocean removal.

Mapping the efficiency of ocean alkalinity enhancement.

Notes on accessing datasets stored in Zarr format.

Information about mCDR Efficiency Tools.

We are launching a new platform for openly sharing research results on carbon dioxide removal.

A harmonized database of carbon offset projects and credits.

We’ve expanded our database of offset data with searchable project types and details about who is using offset credits.

Isometric’s new protocol for wastewater alkalinity enhancement risks counting decarbonization as carbon dioxide removal. The rules could reshape how carbon removal is defined in other pathways, as well.

Forest offset projects are starting to measure their impact against real forests instead of unobserved, modeled counterfactuals. This change could improve the integrity of offsets, but data transparency remains a problem in the offsets industry. Third party observers need public project location data to evaluate if projects lead to real climate benefits.

We conducted a stakeholder survey showing broad agreement that independent review of CDR protocols is needed. However, there appear to be diverse views on the desired scope and function of such a review.

We summarize the ongoing debate around what “counts” as CDR, highlighting the trade-offs of each proposed definition. We suggest an alternative set of questions that can provide a more meaningful guide to making effective CDR investments.

We have published two pieces on the topic of what real-world activities should “count” as carbon removal. They reflect how our thinking on this topic has evolved over the last year and half of debate.

Tracking the users of compliance offsets.

We updated the Compliance Users tool to include the latest available cap-and-trade program data about who used which offsets during the program’s fourth compliance period.

For the first time, a landowner is looking to re-enroll a forest that was part of a project terminated after a catastrophic fire. While this practice is legal, it has potentially negative consequences for California’s buffer pool.

Some carbon removal projects also result in avoided emissions. This is good for the climate, but can pose challenges for individual projects that are trying to earn carbon removal credits.

Some carbon removal projects also result in avoided emissions. This is good for the climate, but can pose challenges for individual projects that are trying to earn carbon removal credits.

Beginning in January, California law AB1305 will require companies to disclose which offsets they use. An analysis of early data, voluntarily released before the law takes effect, demonstrates that these disclosures are powerful, but also highlights the opportunity for improvements around discoverability and usability.

Early offset-use disclosures demonstrate the power of transparency, but also highlight the opportunity for improvements around disclosure discoverability and usability.

Upcoming CDR methodologies from the IPCC will provide a blueprint for national reporting of CDR. Now is the time to share evidence.

Increasing the alkalinity of the ocean can help increase CO₂ absorption. But the same techniques won’t lead to the same outcomes everywhere. We collaborated with [C]Worthy to build a tool that will make it easier to see where ocean alkalinity enhancement is most efficient.

Models broadly agree that climate change is affecting risks. But when it comes to assessing danger for individual addresses, the results can differ significantly.

The Shelly Fire in Northern California highlights two problems with the offsets market: carbon losses from wildfire and disclosure of project boundaries.

Initial results from the ICVCM assessment process highlight the challenges of reliably identifying high-quality offset credits.

Two fires in southern New Mexico have damaged the Mescalero Apache offset project, a large forest project enrolled in California’s forest offset program.

A political threat to a massive offset project in Indonesia illustrates the risks of carbon offsetting.

New data released by the California Air Resources Board shows that California’s forest offset buffer pool has shrunk two quarters in a row.

Interactive tool for understanding Verification Confidence Levels (VCLs) for carbon removal.

We updated the Verification Framework tool to include more detail and a broader representation of biomass-based CDR pathways. We added two new pathways and updated three others.

Biomaterial injection is a type of biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS) that uses photosynthesis to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere, transforms the resulting biomass (e.g. via pyrolysis or creation of a slurry), and injects it into a geologic reservoir to achieve long-term storage. This pathway is VCL 3-5, meaning that current quantification capacity can establish permanent carbon removal, but that for certain approaches, very significant uncertainties remain.

Biochar is a type of biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS) that uses photosynthesis to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere, and transforms biomass into char to achieve longer-term storage of biomass carbon. Here, we specifically consider biochar that is applied to agricultural fields. This pathway is VCL 1-3, meaning that current quantification capacity may be able to establish permanent carbon removal, but that for certain approaches, significant uncertainties remain.

Ocean biomass sinking uses macroalgae to remove CO₂ from surface ocean, indirectly resulting in the removal of CO₂ from the atmosphere. The biomass is sunk into the deep ocean to achieve long-term carbon storage. Here, we specifically consider approaches that involve harvesting the biomass before sinking it. This pathway is VCL 3, meaning that current quantification capacity can establish net carbon removal occurred, but significant uncertainties remain.

Ocean biomass sinking uses macroalgae to remove CO₂ from surface ocean, which in turn enhances the ability of the surface ocean to drawdown atmospheric CO₂. The biomass is sunk into the deep ocean to achieve long-term carbon storage. Here, we specifically consider approaches that do not harvest the biomass before sinking it. This pathway is VCL 1-2, meaning that current quantification capacity may be able to establish net carbon removal occurred, but that very significant uncertainties remain.

Terrestrial biomass sinking is a type of biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS) that uses photosynthesis to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere, and sinks that biomass to achieve long-term carbon storage. In addition to the carbon removal and durability uncertainties mapped below, there are important uncertainties about the ecosystem impacts of this approach. This pathway is VCL 2-4, meaning that current quantification capacity can establish permanent carbon removal, but for certain approaches, very significant uncertainties remain.

There are lots of carbon removal estimates for enhanced weathering in the scientific literature, but making sense of them is hard. We synthesized these estimates to clarify the current state of the science and grapple with its limitations.

Information about carbon offset projects and credits is spread across the internet, making it hard to compare up-to-date data from different sources. Our new, regularly updated database harmonizes offset data from several sources, helping make the offsets market more transparent.

A brief intro to the methods behind our new carbon offsets database

A catalog of public datasets produced throughout our work. Not a frequently updated resource.

The state’s cap-and-trade system depends on forest offsets. But forests burn. And the buffer pool isn’t robust enough to protect the system.

Two years ago, we received a donation we didn’t ask for. Last month, we were asked to send it back.

We updated the Compliance Users tool to include the latest available cap-and-trade program data about who is using which offsets.

The open source Python library Kerchunk can speed up climate research.

We’ve relaxed the data pre-processing requirements that limit the flexibility of our mapping toolkit. Here’s how we did it.

Enhanced weathering (EW) is a process that speeds up the chemical reactions between rocks, water, and air to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere. Here, we specifically consider EW performed by spreading finely ground rock on agricultural soils. This pathway is VCL 3, meaning that current quantification capacity can establish net carbon removal occurred, but significant uncertainties remain.

The voluntary carbon market is gearing up to sell corn ethanol CCS projects as carbon removal because they store biogenic CO₂. We explain why this logic falls short.

New paperwork shows that carbon losses insured by California’s forest offset buffer pool are higher than previously estimated.

Notes on accessing datasets stored in Zarr format.

Lime is used to manage soil pH in many agricultural fields and can remove carbon from the atmosphere when it weathers. We are updating our CDR Verification Framework tool to emphasize that changes in lime use and weathering should be accounted for in enhanced weathering and biochar deployments.

Figuring out the location of an offset project shouldn't involve a scavenger hunt.

How should we compare carbon removal approaches that work on different parts of the carbon cycle at different timescales? We explore how understanding equilibration dynamics helps us compare different carbon removal approaches.

We introduce a new tool that lets users explore methods for quantifying net carbon removal from enhanced weathering.

A tool for exploring different quantitative methods that could be used in enhanced weathering MRV.

“Measurements in Geochemical Carbon Dioxide Removal” by Campbell et al. presents a timely synthesis of measurement techniques to support CDR decision-making with a strong technical foundation.

We developed a new dataset that models the impacts of humid heat with fully public data and code, describing risks now and projecting them into the future.

Announcing the release of a new extreme heat dataset, and reflecting on why it’s important to do this kind of work in the open.

We added near real-time satellite data to our fire and offset project monitoring tool to highlight active and changing portions of fires.

New reporting indicates that the wildfire component of California's buffer pool is almost surely depleted.

We held an expert convening to identify shortcomings and opportunities when evaluating financial risks to electric utilities from extreme heat.

Alaska passed a bill that allows state forests to join the voluntary carbon market. We summarize the evidence that this program might result in non-additional offset credits.

Quebec's flawed reforestation offsets protocol overestimates the value of temporary carbon storage and ignores the albedo effects of planting trees.

We added new pathways (direct ocean removal, alkaline waste mineralization, and biochar), modified existing pathways, and upgraded the tool with improved versioning, additional documentation, and the ability to see how components are shared across pathways.

Alkaline waste mineralization enhances the weathering process of alkaline waste streams (e.g. mine tailings or slag) to enhance the uptake and storage of atmospheric CO₂. Here, we specifically consider methods that primarily store atmospheric CO₂ in the form of solid carbonates. This pathway is VCL 3-5, meaning that current quantification capacity can establish permanent carbon removal, but that for certain approaches, significant uncertainties remain.

Direct ocean removal (DOR) removes CO₂ from the surface ocean for storage, and returns seawater depleted in dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) to the ocean. The DIC-depleted water reequilibrates with the atmosphere to draw down CO₂. This pathway is VCL 3, meaning that current quantification capacity can establish net carbon removal occurred, but significant uncertainties remain.

Ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) adds alkalinity into the surface ocean to enhance the uptake and storage of atmospheric CO₂. Here, we specifically consider OAE that is facilitated by electrochemical separation, which removes acidity from seawater and returns a more basic solution to enhance ocean alkalinity. This pathway is VCL 3, meaning that current quantification capacity can establish net carbon removal occurred, but significant uncertainties remain.

Ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) adds alkalinity into the surface ocean to enhance its ability to uptake and store atmospheric CO₂. Here, we specifically consider OAE that is facilitated by adding solid or semi-solid minerals to the ocean which dissolve to enhance alkalinity. This pathway is VCL 1-3, meaning that current quantification capacity may be able to establish net carbon removal occurred, but for some approaches, very significant uncertainties remain.

Carbon losses from the Bootleg Fire are severe enough to cause the termination of a forest offset project in Oregon.

A new paper about declining habitat suitability for conifers in California's Sierra Nevada demonstrates the shaky scientific foundations of California's forest offsets program.

We updated the Compliance Users tool to include the latest available cap-and-trade program data about who is using which offsets.

We summarize a public letter from 35 organizations across the CDR ecosystem calling for a scientifically-grounded standards body for long-duration CDR that could review and harmonize emerging protocols.

Highlighting scientific factors that can influence climate risk products.

Missed deadlines and paperwork discrepancies obscure the status of California’s forest carbon offset buffer pool.

We analyze different ways the Federal Insurance Office could identify the most climate-vulnerable states.

Updating our representation of Enhanced Weathering in the CDR Verification Framework in response to helpful feedback.

Offset projects hit by recent wildfires report larger carbon losses than we had projected.

We summarize a public comment letter from 16 organizations to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) on recommendations for the treatment of carbon removal in their net-zero standard.

A blistering critique from the carbon offset registry with a dominant ⅔ market share says more about its opposition to independent standards than the best way to pursue them.

Why we are archiving the CDR Database and shifting our attention to other priorities in the carbon removal ecosystem.

We developed an interactive tool to map quantification capacity and uncertainty across CDR pathways. Read this article, explore the interactive tool, or read Frontier’s post to learn more.

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is a type of biomass carbon removal and storage that uses photosynthesis to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere, transforms the resulting biomass to produce an energy co-product (e.g. electricity or hydrogen), and captures the emitted CO₂ for long-term storage. This pathway is VCL 3-5, meaning that current quantification capacity can establish permanent carbon removal, but that for certain approaches, significant uncertainties remain.

Biomass burial is a type of biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS) that uses photosynthesis to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere, and stores the resulting biomass to prevent or slow decomposition. This pathway is VCL 1-4, meaning that current quantification capacity can establish permanent carbon removal for some approaches, but that for others, very significant uncertainties remain.

Direct air capture (DAC) uses chemicals to capture CO₂ from ambient air and generate a concentrated stream of CO₂ for storage. We assume that captured CO₂ is not used for enhanced oil recovery. This pathway is VCL 4-5, meaning that current quantification capacity can establish permanent carbon removal with relative confidence.

KlimaDAO sidesteps CarbonPlan’s criticisms of offset credit quality.

We describe our experiences building cloud-based data analysis pipelines for climate model downscaling, including specific challenges we faced and lessons we learned.

We hosted a workshop with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the Initiative on Climate Risk and Resilience Law (ICRRL) on physical climate risk and financial regulation.

We recently attended the 21st annual Scientific Computing with Python conference. Here we share highlights from the tutorials and presentations.

Companies, government agencies, and consumers increasingly seek data on future physical climate risks. Better communication, transparency, and accessibility would help improve these physical financial risk assessments.

What are the key challenges facing the carbon removal industry? We conducted structured interviews with 37 stakeholders to understand how they perceive market barriers.

Downscaled datasets form the basis of climate impacts and risk analysis, but there are many ways to downscale. We’re releasing data and tools for this foundational step in the climate change planning process.

Interactive mapping tool for global downscaled climate data.

We summarize our comments to the SEC on the agency's proposed climate-risk disclosure rule. In our comments, we commend the rule's robust approach to carbon offsets and encourage the SEC to strengthen the proposed provisions for carbon removal.

We have updated our wildfire monitoring tool in preparation for the 2022 fire season.

Relying on public data, our recent seaweed farming modeling work made key assumptions about seaweed cultivation. We summarize why making these assumptions was necessary, and why as a result the modeled costs may not capture current advances taking place in the field.

California’s net-zero climate plan is long on carbon removal, short on details, and based on flawed analysis.

We summarize two recent comment letters about Verra’s proposed use of ton-year accounting to issue carbon offset credits — including via a proposed methodology developed by NCX which would credit harvest deferrals as short as a single year.

We analyzed the flow of carbon offset credits from conventional registries to the blockchain. Our work shows that nearly all of these credits have been excluded from conventional markets.

Should policymakers track net greenhouse gas emissions across the energy and lands sectors, and if so, how? We explored the complex choices required to account for forests and power plants in the same emissions inventory.

We developed an interactive tool for mapping the potential of seaweed farming for carbon removal and biomass products. Read this article, explore the interactive map, or read the associated preprints to learn more.

Mapping the costs and climate benefits of farming seaweed.

We welcome the OCC's draft climate-related financial risk management principles and point out core tensions that could arise in implementation.

An open source implementation of forest biomass estimation using LiDAR.

Voluntary carbon markets don't provide investors with adequate data about who is using offset credits, nor what kinds of climate claims those credits justify. Simple disclosures would fix this gap.

Ton-year accounting is used to quantify the value of temporary carbon storage — a task for which we lack a clear intellectual framework. We explain how ton-year accounting methods work and highlight crucial differences between prominent ton-year accounting methods.

We review concerns with NCX’s use of discounted ton-year accounting methods to credit short-term timber harvests delays.

A new tool for tracking the use of carbon offsets for compliance in California's cap-and-trade program.

A database of reports on carbon dioxide removal project proposals.

Analysis of 11 new proposals from Stripe’s Fall 2021 CDR procurement.

We encourage the USDA to directly procure "climate-smart" commodities instead of subsidizing carbon offsets.

Why open data and analytics matter in addressing climate-related financial risk.

We discuss tensions and considerations at the nexus of climate risk disclosure and corporate net-zero strategies.

Documentation for the software projects we're building.

A database of protocols used to credit soil carbon.

We analyzed three new soil carbon protocols and added them our interactive database.

Why rendering scientific data in web maps is so tough, and how we’re trying to solve it.

Mapping emissions related to forest carbon.

Our contributions to the initial Climate TRACE data release, and what’s coming next.

Why we made this and what you'll find here.

Response to comments from Gold Standard on our review of soil carbon offset protocols

We systematically reviewed protocols used to credit soil carbon in voluntary markets. Explore our database of protocols or read the article for key takeaways.

Estimating soil carbon based on samples is tricky to get right. We explored the role of sampling depth when estimating soil carbon, to show why it matters, and how to avoid common pitfalls.

We analyzed project proposals submitted for Stripe's Spring 2021 Carbon Removal Purchase. Read this article or explore our updated database of project reports for our takeaways and lessons learned.

Forests in the United States are already at risk from wildfire, drought, and insects, and climate change is making it worse. We combined satellite and ecological data with climate models to project future risks to forest carbon. Along with the paper, we are releasing open data, open software, and an interactive web map.

Mapping risks to forest carbon under a changing climate.

FAQ for our article Systematic over-crediting of forest offsets

California's forest offset program is worth over $2 billion. We analyzed detailed public records to show how statistical flaws in the program's design have led to over-crediting — at a scale of tens of millions of tCO₂ and hundreds of millions of dollars.

Mapping our over-crediting analysis of forest carbon offset projects.

We analyzed project proposals submitted for Microsoft's 2021 Carbon Removal Purchase. Read this article or explore our updated database of project reports for our takeaways and lessons learned.

We developed an interactive tool for exploring the cost of direct air capture (DAC) coupled to stand alone energy sources. Read this article, explore the calculator tool, or read the associated publication to learn more.

Explore key parameters affecting the cost of direct air capture.

We built an interactive tool to help compare the long-term cost of temporary and permanent carbon removal. Read this article or try the calculator tool to learn about the methods and implications.

Comparing costs for temporary and permanent carbon removal.

Fire poses a key risk to the permanence of forest carbon. We analyzed a large fire during the 2020 fire season and analyzed its impact on a forest carbon offset project.

Carbon removal is confusing because there are many approaches, and all affect the carbon cycle in different ways. In this article we develop and explain a typology for comparing approaches.

There are good reasons to be excited about soil carbon sequestration, but rigorous quantification remains a challenge. We analyzed a carbon offset protocol and wrote multiple letters raising concerns related to program design and scientific integrity.

We analyzed project proposals submitted for Stripe's 2020 Negative Emissions Purchase. Read this article or explore our database of project reports for our main takeaways and lessons learned.