Carbon Unbound 2025:
Accelerating Gigaton-Scale Carbon Dioxide Removal

Carbon Unbound is partnering with Terraset, AirMiners and CDR.fyi to unlock philanthropic capital and catalyse permanent carbon removal. 

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With the top 10 buyers dominating purchases and a growing removals gap, our goal is to change the narrative around CDR purchasing, spotlight some exceptional CDR providers, and leverage the summit to make a quantifiable, tons-removed difference while ensuring transparency and enhancing trust.

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Leveraging Terraset's tax-deductible vehicle for carbon removal, we ask you, the audience, to drive real impact by allocating dollars to a portfolio of incredible CDR companies, which is then used to purchase CDRs.

Adam Fraser - CEO, Terraset

Tito Jankowski - Co-Founder & CEO, AirMiners

• The new administration's federal policies are expected to significantly impact carbon removal strategies. What are new uncertainties and opportunities the global CDR space is facing as a result of the administration change? 
• Will bipartisan support for CDR increase at the federal level? Can tax credits provide greater policy support such as with the 45Q which was revamped under the first Trump administration? 
• What are the developments and latest trends in Government procurement of carbon removal services? 
• Carbon removal lacks a pre-existing market, and it is in dire need of DEMAND. How can private sector players adapt and thrive under shifting federal policies? 
• What barriers or challenges does the USA exiting the Paris agreement present for the global CDR industry & companies? What is the path forward that will enable us to achieve our collective goals regardless of the U.S.'s involvement in the Paris Agreement?

Chris Neidl - Co-Founder - Open AirCollective

Giana Amador - Executive Director, Carbon Removal Alliance

Lucia Simonelli - Director of Programs, Carbon Removal Standards Initiative

Mariam Al-Shamma - Associate Director, Bipartisan Policy Center

Tim Bushman - Policy Director, Carbon Removal Canada

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• What can be done at the state and municipal levels to demonstrate the economic and ecosystem benefits of CDR and spur action? Who are the stakeholders that need to be involved?
• States can pave the way for this sector and New York and Massachusetts are among those leading on CDR. Are they influencing neighbouring states and is collaboration on the table?
• What lessons learned at the U.S. state and local levels could be applied to other subnational jurisdictions? What are the translatable learnings and next areas of opportunity? 
• What insights can we draw from existing global CDR regulations and policies that are actually leading to measurable DEMAND creation?

Katie Sullivan, Global Managing Director, IETA

Jennifer Wilcox - Presidential Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering & Energy Policy, University of Pennsylvania

Sean Mulderrig - Program Manager, Industrial & Agriculture, NYSERDA

The key to sustained growth in the CDR market lies in attracting more buyers, scaling DEMAND, and encouraging existing purchasers to increase their investments. This session will provide an update on the number of durable tonnes sold in the first quarter of Q1 2025 and also present a high-level approach of highlights and trends since our previous Carbon Unbound West Coast summit in late October 2024.

Alexander Rink - CEO, CDR.fyi

Rev up your engines! Investors will be positioned in the breakout room, ready to meet start-ups. Start-ups sit, have 4 minutes to pitch before a bell rings, and move to the next investor’s table.

• Forestry projects dominate the VCM market, the number of available credits is increasing and DEMAND is growing. Methods and geographic concentrations for ‘Improved Forest Management’ (IFM) and ‘Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation’ (ARR) differ greatly. What are the key differences and advantages of IFM and ARR?
• Questions about lack of additionality and permanence have damaged these NBS credits in the past, but it’s been shedding its bad reputation. How has carbon accounting and MRV advanced and evolved, and what further innovations are in the works? How is permanence being addressed?
• What are the most significant risks and opportunities in securing buyers and scaling different forestry projects?  
• What’s the current and potential pipeline of forest-based CDR credits? Are these projects underfunded or undersupplied?

Utkarsh (Uti) Agarwal - Americas Carbon Originator, BP | Low Carbon Trading

Jennifer Jenkins - Chief Science Officer, Rubicon Carbon

Shannon Smith - Chief Commercial Officer, Chestnut Carbon

Stacy Kauk - Head of Science, Isometric

Special guest to be announced

Join Nikki Batchelor and the Grand Prize Winner of the $100M XPRIZE Carbon Removal, the largest incentive prize in history. They will talk about their winning carbon removal solution, business strategy, technology roadmap and what made them stand out to win this four-year competition.

Nikki Batchelor - Executive Director, XPRIZE Carbon Removal

Organizations invite attendees to participate in intimate discussions about critical challenges related to CDR development and increasing DEMAND.

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1. Derisking Nature-Based Carbon Investments: A Smarter, Safer Path to High-Quality CDR

Arnaud Bret - CEO, Reforest'Action

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2. Building the Way to Carbon Negative Roads

Tonje Norheim - Vice President Business Development, Carbon Crusher

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3. Building Confidence in Enhanced Weathering Credits

Isometric

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4. Biochar - Hurdles and Opportunities for Project Developers

Steffi Muhanji – Senior Program Manager Carbon Removal, Microsoft

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5. Co-Creating Carbon Removal: Partnerships for Systemic Impact

Hehewutei (Cody) Amakali - Vice President, Impact & Community Engagement, Reactivate

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6. Advancing CDR with State and Local Policy

Toby Bryce - Managing Director, Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture

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7. The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Scaling CDR and New Materials

Matthew Kapelewski - Head of Technology Evaluation, Orbital Materials

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8. Federal Policy for Carbon Management: Opportunities, Challenges & What’s Next

Savita Bowman - Senior Program Manager, Carbon Management, ClearPath

• What has been the CDR demand and supply status in 2024 and are we seeing growth in 2025?
• Have the existing principles, standards and reporting frameworks been motivating corporations to include (more) removals in their target setting? How has this impacted offset programs such as CORSIA?
• Will state-led initiatives and international trading schemes remain resilient under the new administration?
• How does Article 6 of the Paris Agreement relate to CDR in the VCM? Which players does it impact the most? 
• Suppliers are trying to maximize the economic upside of carbon credit sales between the VCM and compliance markets. How do they navigate this?

Lisa DeMarco - Senior Partner & CEO, Resilient LLP

Alexia Kelly - Managing Director of the Carbon Policy & Markets Initiative (CPMI), High Tide Foundation

Antti Vihavainen - Vice Chairman, Puro.earth

Mandy Rambharos - CEO, Verra

Owen Hewlett, Chief Technical Officer, Gold Standard

This keynote explores the vital link between carbon removal strategies and farmers' and ranchers' economic success. By aligning sustainability goals with profitability, we can drive greater adoption of regenerative practices that enhance soil health, sequester carbon, and improve long-term productivity. Learn how financial incentives, innovative market mechanisms, and policy support can empower agricultural producers to become leaders in carbon removal while strengthening their bottom line.

Lars Dyrud - CEO & Executive Board Member, EarthOptics

• How are justice and equity included in business plans? What is this important and what are the benefits of doing so? 
• How have suppliers interfaced with communities in their work?  What have both their experiences been like? And what have been the most important learnings and surprises?
• How can CDR projects play into the Just and Sustainable Transition, and what requirements can be put in place to make sure co-benefits are baked into projects to maximise impact for communities?
• Federal mandates have driven much of the current demand for integrating equity and justice. What does this mean if federal support is reduced? 

Ugbaad Kosar - Director of Environmental Justice, Carbon180

Fiona Perera - Manager, Methodology Development & Innovations, Gold Standard

Holly Buck - Assistant Professor of Environment & Sustainability, University at Buffalo

• What impact have we seen across climate tech investment since Trump's presidential win? How do we expect this to affect the ability for innovators to secure capital? 
• Several CDR startups have moved from strategy to execution. When prioritising budgets, how do investors choose between new investments and supporting their portfolio companies with follow-on funding?
• Can we ‘flip the script’ on carbon removal from costly to money-making? 
• How are current DEMAND and supply metrics influencing investment sentiment?
• Policy support, data transparency, and innovative business models are key to reducing investment risk.  Is one more important, or are they highly integrated?

Ben Rubin - Executive Director, Carbon Business Council

Akifumi (Chris) Takigawa - Director, Global Brain Corporation

Micah Kotch - Partner, Blackhorn Ventures

Sophie Purdom - Managing Partner, Planeteer Capital

Thomas Öström - Co-Founder & CEO, Nordbex

10 minutes case setting, 30 minutes breakout discussion, 20 minutes feedback sharing with the audience.

The lack of DEMAND will remain the key challenge in scaling CDR. This interactive session will outline different pathways for scaling demand and highlight the barriers we need to overcome. Drawing on firsthand accounts, scientific data, and expert insights, we will gather insights from buyers, suppliers, investors, policymakers, and other relevant stakeholders and explore how different stakeholders can learn from each other's experiences to increase this much-needed demand. 

Sharing is caring: the more the CDR community can unify their voices on buying carbon removal, the faster this market will scale.  Join us and share the lessons learnt with peers.

Alexander Rink - CEO, CDR.fyi

Daniel Pike - Principal, RMI

Jan Mazurak - Senior Director Aviation & Carbon Dioxide Removal, ClimateWorks Foundation

Peter Minor - CEO & Co-Founder, Absolute Climate

Randy Spock - Carbon Credits & Removals Lead, Google

Rick Saines - Managing Director, Pollination Law

Adina Mangubat - Accelerator Director, AirMiners

Tito Jankowski - Co-Founder & CEO, AirMiners

• Agricultural carbon credits and land management can potentially create lasting land value. What are the difficulties and untapped potential of these assets? What incentives and education are needed to motivate farmers? 
• ERW and biochar solutions are gaining ground. How do Biochar and ERW carbon credits support farmers, and how important is government support in ensuring the growing DEMAND? 
• Federal policy, especially the Farm Bill, is crucial to transforming the agricultural system. Will funding continue to be available? Will the private sector step up if policies are failing?  
• What is the contrast and potential between different geographies? What can regions globally learn from each other to improve the quality of carbon sequestration?

Chloë Payne - Principal, Ponderosa VC

Darren Bondar - President & CEO, HEMPALTA

Samuel Fournier - CEO, ChrysaLabs

Organizations invite attendees to participate in intimate discussions about critical challenges related to CDR development and increasing DEMAND.

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1. Derisking Nature-Based Carbon Investments: A Smarter, Safer Path to High-Quality CDR

Arnaud Bret - CEO, Reforest'Action

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2. Building the Way to Carbon Negative Roads

Tonje Norheim - Vice President Business Development, Carbon Crusher

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‍3. Biochar - Hurdles and Opportunities for Project Developers

Steffi Muhanji – Senior Program Manager Carbon Removal, Microsoft

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4. Co-Creating Carbon Removal: Partnerships for Systemic Impact

Hehewutei (Cody) Amakali - Vice President, Impact & Community Engagement, Reactivate

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5. Advancing CDR with State and Local Policy

Toby Bryce - Managing Director, Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture

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6. The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Scaling CDR and New Materials

Matthew Kapelewski - Head of Technology Evaluation, Orbital Materials

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7. Federal Policy for Carbon Management: Opportunities, Challenges & What’s Next

Savita Bowman - Senior Program Manager, Carbon Management, ClearPath

• Which of these sectors: industry, agriculture, buildings and transport have made the most progress and what innovative solutions specific to each sector are the most promising?   
• DEMAND for industrial products labelled as ‘green’ needs to increase dramatically. What is driving change quickest and why? 
• Voluntary efforts of large corporations have assisted in a push to get cleaner plants built. How can businesses, as well as coalitions accelerate policy incentives and regulatory frameworks?
• Several major HtA industries, particularly in Japan and Europe where there is a compliance market, signal the need for high-quality CDR. Is there enough signal to drive the potential supply needed and in a timely manner? 
• Will customers be the ones to bear the additional, near-term decarbonization costs, and in which of the HtA sectors will this be most evident?

Kristoffer Labuc - Founder & CEO, ReCarber

Andy Shafer - Chief Customer, Marketing and Brand Officer, Gevo

Hara Wang - Co-Founder, Cascade Climate

Liam Candy - Head of Carbon Mitigation Projects, Anglo American

Ko Yamada - Director ANA Future Frontier Fund, All Nippon Air

Spotlighting start-up CDR pioneers that utilize carbon to produce materials and products while permanently storing CO2. They showcase their unique solutions in carbon utilization to our panel of experts.

Andrew Chang - Managing Director, Activate

Helena Wasserman - Co-Founder, Investors for Climate

Aaron Fitzgerald - CEO & Founder, Mars Materials

Greeshma Gadikota - Founder & Lead Scientific Advisor, Carbon to Stone

Harisson Meyer - Co-Founder & COO, Oxylus Energy

• How can companies use offtake agreements to secure long-term supply, lock-in favorable pricing, and build a resilient carbon removal strategy that aligns with net-zero commitments?
• The intersection of insurance, legal, and financial frameworks in the carbon removal industry is dynamic and evolving. How do these frameworks interact, and what’s needed to enable large-scale investment in high-quality removals?
• Buyers need the confidence to act, and structuring effective offtake agreements is key. How can companies navigate risk—balancing price certainty, supply security, and contractual flexibility—to make informed, strategic purchasing decisions?‍
• DEMAND for high-quality credits in the VCM is more pressing than ever. How do legal, contractual and insurance schemes adhere to higher standards while ensuring these legal frameworks complement each other?

Rachel Walsh - Environmental Commodities Strategist, BMO Capital Markets

Peter Mayer - Partner, Stairs Dillenbeck Finley Mayer

Michelle You - Co-Founder & CEO, Supercritical

• Various funding sources and mechanisms are essential for project developers and investors alike. What are the building blocks of carbon removal project finance for Direct Air Capture? 
• Governments have pioneered CDR policies and financially incentivized the expansion of novel solutions, such as DAC. Will the new US Administration remain the leader in public procurement, or will its involvement change?
• What other hard-tech industries can DAC learn from, and can they cooperate with these sectors to accelerate scaling?
• If DAC had all the money and DEMAND in the world, what would the non-monetary challenges be with DAC?

Brynn Esterly - Head of Carbon Removal Solutions, Climate Vault

Andrew Fishbein - Lead Government Affairs North America, Climeworks

Ryan Covington - Partner, Skylight Law

• The growing interest and investment in freshwater and ocean-based methods (mCDR), combined with uncertainties, stress the need for government assistance. What support has been provided so far?
• Several ocean and freshwater CDR methods exploring carbon sinking capabilities have created DEMAND. What are the most promising ‘abiotic’ solutions, and what is their potential? What is the status and potential for ‘biological’ mCDR, such as kelp, seaweed and algae?
• Data transparency is key in trust building and creating growth of mCDR solutions and quantification uncertainty has been challenging. How has MRV evolved in mCDR over the last year?
• Many global laws restrict activities in maritime zones, which can complicate the use of these innovative solutions. What are other factors we should be aware of?

Romany Webb - Deputy Director at Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia University

David LaGreca - Managing Director Carbon Markets, EcoEngineers

• Although the CDR market grew in 2024, we still desperately need to scale DEMAND. Can incentives such as the Global Fortune 1000 CDR Challenge make a sizable dent? 
• Policies and government support are vital for boosting CDR, but these have changed in the US and across borders. How has this impacted private engagement?
• Everybody, besides corporations, can join the market and use different purchasing options - such as marketplaces (Terraset with accompanying  tax benefits), coalitions, bilateral deals, buyer clubs, etc. What are buyers using, and which options will grow? 
• In the US, 2% of the GDP comes from charitable giving, but little goes to CDR. How can we influence the support of the philanthropic sector? 
• Education, market knowledge, and understanding one's carbon footprint are some factors that hinder new -small and big- players. How do you share knowledge and advise the ultimate decision-makers?

Julia Strong - Executive Director, Symbiosis Coalition

Kelly Levin - Chief of Science, Data & Systems Change, Bezos Earth Fund

Paolo Piffaretti - Co-Founder & CEO, ClimeFi

Carbon Unbound East Coast is proud to host OpenAir’s global student competition finals. The event will illuminate the next generation of CDR pioneers developing cutting-edge solutions. The five finalists will present their groundbreaking solutions to the delegation.

While enjoying a drink, come together to find out how much has been donated to the LIVE Carbon Removal Marketplace! We’ll hear where the money has come from and where it’s going, and make a final call for pledges.