Interview With Anu Khan, Founder Of Carbon Removal Standards Initiative

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How would you describe what you’re doing to someone new to the topic?

The Carbon Removal Standards Initiative, or CRSI (pronounced like the Game of Thrones character), is a nonprofit that ensures carbon removal gets counted correctly. At our core, we’re all about accountability — carbon removal is a public good, so if public dollars will be spent on carbon removal, we need to be confident that we are actually removing carbon from the atmosphere.

And how would you describe it to an expert?

We provide technical assistance and capacity building for carbon removal, focused on quantifying carbon. We work with policymakers, regulators, and policy NGOs to ensure that carbon removal policies are designed with accountability at the center. MRV and standardized quantification — proving we did what we said we would do — are not an afterthought but foundational to ensuring the carbon removal industry’s success.

What was it that first made you interested in carbon removal, and when?

I’ve always been interested in science for social impact. In grad school, I worked on catalysts for hydrogen fuel cells and other energy technologies. After grad school, I switched gears to philanthropy. I wanted to get a better sense of how money could be spent efficiently to accelerate climate progress. That’s how I learned about carbon removal — a critical climate solution that was chronically underinvested in and underdeveloped — and made the shift to working on carbon removal policy at Carbon180 before founding CRSI.

Where do you hope, and where do you think, the carbon removal industry is in 3 years?

I think we’ll start to see many pilot projects coming online across CDR pathways, with even more in the works. But with that, I expect increased scrutiny of what these projects are accomplishing, and if they are on track to generate anticipated economic and climate benefits. We will need to be ready with good standards, MRV, and accounting frameworks so that any tons delivered to buyers from these new technologies are undeniable (while of course still creating space for constant iteration and improvement).

Who are your biggest supporters, and what’s their reason to supporting your work, if you can say?

First, policy nonprofits. Civil society is chronically underrepresented in standards development today and compared to companies, NGOs don’t financially benefit from doing this nitty gritty technical work. However, carbon removal is a public good — civil society needs to be a part of this conversation, representing the public’s interest. 

Second, policymakers and regulators. The folks in government are doing more with less every day, and will be the ones ultimately responsible for setting the rules around measuring carbon. We aim to equip them with the information and resources they need to establish science-backed standards for carbon removal.  

Third, companies, which people are sometimes surprised to hear. A small startup doesn’t have the capacity to tackle multi-year industry standards development processes. There’s so much shared quality infrastructure we need to build as an industry that is out-of-scope for any individual company. We can help build it.  

If you were not dedicating so much resources to carbon removal, where else would you dedicate them?

My family is from Bangladesh and lived through the Independence War — our experiences have shaped my decision to always be working to prevent harm globally. For me, climate is about well-being, safety, and preventing the kinds of disruptions that rapidly turn into large-scale violence against vulnerable people. Carbon removal — reducing peak warming and correcting overshoot — is one of the ways we can do that. 

What trends are you most excited about? Where are the biggest holes in the carbon removal industry?

I’m most excited by an increasing commitment to quality. Companies and registries recognize that we need to get this right, and that market integrity and trust in CDR is key.

On the other hand, the biggest hole is how we really get to those 10, 15, and 25 gigaton milestones. We don’t have a clear path that outlines the specific steps to get there, and that level of detail is necessary. 

What are overlooked opportunities in cleantech, carbon, or specifically carbon removal, in your opinion?

Industrial integrations are starting to crop up more from a physical perspective (e.g., feedstocks, value chains) but we need to think through the business models and policy drivers that can realize this potential. 

And lastly, if you could enact one policy for climate – what would it be?

Global carbon pricing! It works!