This is CDR: Let's go! Introducing the Community Carbon Removal Purchasing Challenge.

​The Community Carbon Removal Purchasing Challenge, launched by the 4 Corners Carbon Coalition, is a new national initiative designed to unlock the power of local leadership to advance carbon dioxide removal (CDR). It gives communities—whether towns, cities, counties or neighborhoods —a new pathway to take meaningful action: purchasing high-quality carbon removal from a range of qualified U.S. based suppliers.

​The Challenge builds on the foundation laid by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Carbon Dioxide Removal Purchase Pilot Prize—a landmark $35 million federal effort launched in 2023 to accelerate the market for science-vetted, durable carbon removal.

​By organizing local purchasing campaigns, communities send a powerful signal: they’re ready to help scale CDR solutions that will be essential to limiting warming and restoring the climate. These early actions don’t just contribute carbon removal tonnage—they build public understanding, unlock hands-on learning, and show that climate innovation can start close to home. The goal is to spark a wave of participation across the U.S., creating visible momentum and opening the door to broader policy and market shifts grounded in community priorities.

The session will include a tour of the campaign process, supplier selection tools, and communications support, along with tips for getting started and opportunities to connect with peers. Whether you’re looking to lead a campaign or support one, this session is your first step.

In this webinar, 4 Corners Director Chris Neidl will:

• Introduce the vision behind the Community Carbon Removal Purchasing Challenge, and its goals.

• Survey the CDR suppliers that have been selected as Challenge partners.

• Provide practical walk through of the challenge design, and how individuals and local governments can take part by initiating their own local campaigns.

​Presenter: Chris Neidl

Chris Neidl is the founder of OpenAir, and the co-founder and director of the 4 Corners Carbon Coalition, and currently serves as the Carbon Removal Lead for the High Level Climate Champions.

Launched in 2022 in partnership with Boulder County, CO, and the cities of Flagstaff, AZ; Salt Lake City, UT; and Santa Fe, NM, the 4 Corners Carbon Coalition has emerged as a model for how municipal governments can take direct action to support early-stage CDR technologies and build local capacity for climate innovation. Under Chris’s leadership, 4CCC has awarded grants to demonstration projects that permanently remove CO₂ while delivering local co-benefits—ranging from biochar applications on farms to novel mineralization and carbon-storing building materials.

Chris’s broader mission is to democratize climate innovation by bringing carbon removal down to street level—empowering communities, students, and public agencies to engage with and benefit from these technologies. His work consistently bridges the gap between ambitious climate goals and practical, place-based solutions.

Before focusing on CDR, Chris worked internationally in the solar energy sector, particularly in India and East Africa, supporting clean energy access initiatives.