How carbon removal pioneer Climeworks is tackling its first major layoff

Zero: The Climate Race

Bloomberg

Technology, Business, Science

4.7 • 219 Ratings

🗓️ 21 May 2025

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Scientists are clear that meeting climate goals means ending carbon pollution and drawing down excess CO2 from the air. That’s why carbon-removal technologies have proliferated over the past decade. But with the US government slashing climate incentives and programs, some companies are being forced to cut costs. This week Akshat Rathi speaks with Jan Wurzbacher, co-founder of Climeworks, a startup that pulls carbon dioxide from the air, about its first major layoffs and what the future holds for the most expensive climate solution.

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Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. This episode was produced by Sommer Saadi and Robert Williams. Special thanks to: Coco Liu, Michelle Ma, Brian Kahn and Siobhan Wagner. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	How will innovations like AI and quantum computing shape business and finance?
0:04.5	At Bloomberg Tech, C-suite corporate technologists, engineers, investors, and startup founders
0:09.5	will come together to discuss the implications these advancements have on your world,
0:13.8	your wallet, and the future.
0:15.5	Join us, June 4th and 5th in San Francisco.
0:18.0	Learn more at Bloomberg Live.com slash techsf.
0:21.5	Presenting sponsors in VescoQQQ,
0:23.6	PwC, Salesforce and Samsung.
0:26.1	Participating sponsor, Personal AI.
0:31.0	Welcome to Zero.
0:32.4	I am Akshadrati.
0:33.5	This week, Troubles with direct air capture.
0:49.8	Yeah. This week, troubles with direct air capture. Sometimes it's nice to remind yourself that the solution to climate change is simple.
0:55.9	Stop adding greenhouse gases and draw down the excess sitting in the atmosphere.
1:01.1	I'm not saying either step is easy, but those are the two steps to meet the goals set under the Paris Agreement.
1:08.8	I know that even trying to meet the first step of cutting carbon pollution seems hard right now,
1:14.6	with the US reversing any of the good things it's done on climate policy.
1:19.6	But that's not a good reason to stop thinking about how to undo the harm already caused,
1:25.6	because these carbon removal technologies will be needed at scale
1:30.0	later in the century. Perhaps drawing down billions of tons of carbon dioxide each year. It could be
1:36.5	as large as the oil and gas industry is today. And that means the work on carbon removal technologies
1:43.1	must start now and scale up.
	...

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