Carbon180 is a nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Washington, D.C.[1] In 2015, Giana Amador and Noah Deich co-founded the organization at the University of California, Berkeley.[1][2] Carbon180 advocates for carbon dioxide removal solutions, including, but not limited to, direct air capture (DAC), forest carbon removal, and agricultural soil carbon.[3][4][5] Carbon180 engages with lawmakers, academic and science-based institutions, and businesses to fund and deploy carbon removal technologies and methods.[1][6]
Launched in 2015 at the University of California, Berkeley, Carbon180 was formerly known as the Center for Carbon Removal until 2018.[1][7] In 2017, the Center created the New Carbon Economy Consortium with research universities and national labs to conduct research, share knowledge, and build out pathways to deploy and scale carbon removal solutions.[8][9][10] Also in 2017, the Center helped advocate for amendments to the Section 45Q tax credit, specifically to include projects that involve DAC.[11][12] The tax credit passed in the 2018 Bipartisan Budget Act.[13] In 2018, Carbon180 retained Cassidy and Associates for a short time and in 2020, retained the Coefficient Group to lobby and engage with congressional offices on climate legislation.[5]
Carbon180 has received the attention of celebrities as Grimes, Halsey, and Odesza have all pledged to donate a percentage of their NFT proceeds to the organization.[14][15]Grimes has pledged a portion of her proceeds from physical artwork as well.[14]
Carbon180's main activities pertain to federal policy advocacy, the New Carbon Economy Consortium, and the Leading with Soil Initiative.[1] The organization also provides fact sheets and deep dives describing various approaches to carbon removal.[16][17]
The nonprofit supports legislation related to carbon dioxide removal, such as H.R.7434 – Federal Carbon Dioxide Removal Leadership Act of 2022, and is advocating for carbon removal solutions (e.g., soil carbon) as the U.S. Congress considers the 2023 Farm Bill.[18][19][20][21] Carbon180 recently shared its outlook for DAC implementation with the U.S. Department of Energy as the agency moves forward with the Regional Direct Air Capture Hubs program.[22]
Carbon180 views soil carbon sequestration as a viable climate solution and has published a report entitled, Soil Carbon Moonshot: Grounding Carbon Storage in Science, which proposes a $2.3 billion interagency effort to research and scale soil carbon practices.[20][25][26][27]