Enhanced Rock Weathering in the Global South

This webinar "Enhanced Rock Weathering in the Global South: Exploring Potential for Enhanced Agricultural Productivity and Carbon Dioxide Drawdown,” was held on Tuesday, April 18th, 2023, 1 pm- 2 pm ET.
Enhanced rock weathering (ERW) is an emerging carbon drawdown strategy that leverages the natural weathering process of certain types of rocks, mainly basalt. These rocks are finely ground and applied to soils to drive chemical reactions which capture atmospheric carbon and convert it into stable forms. The stable carbon then flows through groundwater into the oceans, where it can be stored for thousands of years.
The application of ERW has significant potential for scale, particularly on agricultural land. However, the implementation of ERW technologies has been limited largely to study environments in high-income countries. There is significant interest from climate financing organizations. However, given the current focus of ERW development in Global North geographies, in the absence of a concerted parallel effort in the Global South, it is likely that any future economic benefits accruing to farmers from ERW in the form of carbon offset payments will disproportionately benefit farmers in rich countries.
The panelists for this webinar, Garrett Boudinot and Yifan Powers, presented their report, which aims to shift some of these actions and benefits to include poor smallholder farmers in low- and middle-income countries along with discussing further implications of ERW in the carbon removal space.
Panelists:
Garrett Boudinot, Founder, and CEO of Vycarb
Yifan Powers, Research Manager, Precision Development Climate Global Team
Moderator:
Wil Burns, Co-Director of the Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy