In collaboration with Global Factor, Carbon Gap celebrated the launch of its Carbon Removal Readiness Assessment for Spain with local stakeholders in Madrid.
More than 30 participants joined us from across the Spanish carbon removal ecosystem; including representatives from the Ministry of Industry, several universities, CDR start-ups and established actors of the transition like Fundación Repsol, Sylvestris and Enagás.
The report was very well received, with many participants welcoming the effort to structure the national conversation and connect it with developments happening across Europe and internationally.
Several clear themes emerged from the discussions.
- Awareness of carbon dioxide removal remains low in Spain; many participants highlighted this as one of the biggest barriers to progress today.
- Spain has a strong nature-based solutions community, which showed clear interest in exploring alternatives to credit-based demand models, while also voicing concerns seen in other countries about how a broader mix of CDR approaches might evolve.
- The classic “chicken and egg” dynamic. Policymakers suggested that the topic will be easier to address once projects become more tangible and visible. Meanwhile, developers and stakeholders called for proactive government support to help those projects emerge in the first place.
Silos: The follow-up workshop also revealed how fragmented the Spanish CDR landscape currently is. Many initiatives, projects, and start-ups are operating in parallel but often in silos. This weakens the ecosystem’s visibility and makes it harder for international partners and investors to understand who is doing what in Spain.
The good news: several participants committed to taking steps to better connect the existing actors and strengthen collaboration across the ecosystem. Stay tuned.