TODAY - Webinar: Carbon Dioxide Removal and Communities: Learning From the Past, Planning for the Future

In this third webinar of a six-part series, hear from experts about the health and safety concerns with Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR). Panelists will cover the landscape of national and California-specific issues, impacts to air quality, and risks associated with transportation and storage. This webinar will be followed by a subsequent webinar focused on community ownership, governance, and benefits.

This webinar will explore: 

• An overview of health and safety concerns with Carbon Dioxide Removal

• Lessons California can learn from other states 

• How we can prevent repeating harms caused by earlier industrial development

• Public health and safety concerns with transportation and storage

As the world navigates the necessary transition away from polluting fuels toward clean energy, most climate scientists acknowledge that we must also remove climate pollution that has already been dumped into the atmosphere.

The call for CDR grows stronger as new analyses find that the global community is not on track to meet the Paris Agreement targets for limiting carbon pollution in the atmosphere and keeping global average temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius. CDR is integrated into California’s plan to meet its 2030 and 2045 climate goals — the 2022 Scoping Plan from the Air Resources Board has a target of 7 million metric tons of CDR by 2030, and 75 million metric tons of CDR by 2045.

This six-part webinar series on carbon dioxide removal will explore the science, strategies, and policies of CDR. We will facilitate co-learning between stakeholders, address knowledge gaps, and emphasize the importance of engaging, protecting, and benefiting local communities with any proposed CDR project.

This monthly webinar series is co-hosted by California Environmental Voters, The Climate Center, and Project 2030.

Alayna Chuney - Director at Carbon 180

As a senior member of the Carbon180 team, Alayna works to ensure justice and equity are at the forefront of carbon removal policy development and advocacy. Alayna brings years of experience in environmental justice, environmental law, and litigation, representing frontline communities and advocating for healthier environments. Alayna, an attorney in Maryland, received her Juris Doctor from Western Michigan University and a bachelor’s in social relations and policy from Michigan State University.

Jack Willingham - Director of Yazoo County, Mississippi’s Emergency Management Agency

Jack Willingham is the Director of Yazoo County, Mississippi’s Emergency Management Agency. Director Willingham and his team oversaw emergency management in response to a pipeline rupture in Satartia, MS in 2020. In the years following, Director Willingham has coordinated with relevant stakeholders on this topic to share their experiences, emergency response tactics and best practices regarding pipeline safety.

Amanda McKay - Policy Manager of Pipeline Safety Trust

Amanda McKay is the Policy Manager for the Pipeline Safety Trust. Since joining the Trust in April of 2022, she has immersed herself in the regulatory issues around carbon dioxide and hydrogen pipelines and the safety risks they pose to local communities. Amanda has a background in environmental policy, communications, and community engagement. She received her B.A. in Environmental Policy from Western Washington University and has a Master’s degree in Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law (MSL) from Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, OR.

Dr. Jens Birkholzer - Senior Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Dr. Jens Birkholzer is a Senior Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and serves as Senior Advisor to the Energy Geosciences Division in the Earth and Environmental Systems Area. Dr. Birkholzer is a world-renowned expert on evaluating the feasibility and environmental sustainability of a broad portfolio of geo-energy applications. He has over 400 scientific publications and serves on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, the Energies Journal (Geo-Energy Section), and is an Editorial Policy Advisor for the Journal of Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment. Dr. Birkholzer leads the international DECOVALEX Model Comparison Initiative as its Chair, is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America, and a Senior Fellow of the California Council on Science and Technology.

Ileana Navarro - Community Organizer and Air Quality Specialist with the Central California Environmental Justice Network (CCEJN)

Ileana Navarro is a Community Organizer and Air Quality Specialist with the Central California Environmental Justice Network (CCEJN). Ileana is a graduate from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies. In her past experiences, she has worked as a Certified Arborist for a vegetation management company focused on reducing wildfire risk. In her current position, Ileana’s work involves regular communication with communities most affected by the Central Valley’s air quality. Through collaborative work and research, she works towards educating these communities on important environmental issues and health impacts.