S1 #8 | Perceptions: how do we think and talk about carbon?

The Carbon Removal Show | Negative Emissions, Net Zero, Climate Positive

What we do about climate change may be one of the biggest questions of our generation. Everyone should be able to have their say. This means we need to start having conversations in earnest to understand how we really think and feel about carbon removal.

But these conversations about carbon removal may feel uncomfortable, a sad reflection on where we find ourselves and a dangerous distraction from the hard task of decarbonisation. How can we balance these concerns with others' hard-headed optimism to grow an industry we're all on board with?

Let's not forget too that research suggests a poor general understanding of carbon removal across the board, alongside a whole host of preconceptions about an industry that's barely off its feet. What can we learn from this?

And, of course, no conversation is free from choices around the language we use. Lingo, jargon - call it what you like, this space is full of it! And how we choose to deploy it may have real impacts for how people understand and build expectations of carbon removal (or maybe we should say "rebalancing the carbon cycle"?)

Join Emily, Emily, Tom, Tom, Mike and all their mics to take a step back and check in on how we're thinking and feeling about everything we've learnt so far.

Many thanks to our excellent guests in this episode:

• Mike Childs, Head of Science, Policy and Research at Friends of the Earth
• Emily Cox, Research Associate in environmental policy and social psychology at Cardiff University
• Tom Mansfield, Founder and Director at Pale Blue Perspective

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