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:
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.
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Can Isometric turn the carbon market on its head?