CUR8’s Mission: Scaling Carbon Removals to Save the Planet

London-based startup CUR8 is seeking to help tackle climate change by building a platform for carbon removals, which it hopes will help to clean up the mess left by carbon emissions. Carbon removals — also known as carbon dioxide removal (CDR), carbon drawdown or negative emissions — involve capturing CO2 from the atmosphere and locking it away for years or even centuries. They differ from carbon offsets, which compensate for emissions by investing in reduction projects elsewhere. Carbon offsetting has had a mixed reputation due to issues such as biodiversity loss and land grabbing. However, carbon removals may offer a more efficient and equitable approach to reducing CO2. CUR8’s founders include Google for Startups’ former UK lead Marta Krupinska and Dr Gabrielle Walker, former climate editor at Nature and features editor at New Scientist.