Hannes Junginger-Gestrich, CEO of Carbonfuture, discusses the company's role in building monitoring, reporting, and verification systems for carbon removal in a recent podcast. Launched five years ago, Carbonfuture facilitates durable carbon removal through a digital platform that connects various methods with buyers. The firm emphasizes scientific rigor and ecosystem collaboration to scale efforts toward gigatons of removals by 2040.
The carbon removal sector faces significant challenges in ensuring legitimacy and accountability as the world seeks to extract billions of tons of CO2 from the atmosphere to avert severe warming. In a podcast episode of Sustainability In Your Ear, originally aired on September 1, 2025, and republished in January 2026, Hannes Junginger-Gestrich explains how Carbonfuture addresses these issues.
Founded five years prior to the episode, Carbonfuture has become the largest facilitator of durable carbon removal by volume, according to CDR.fyi. The company's digital platform integrates data throughout the carbon removal lifecycle, linking methods such as biochar, enhanced rock weathering, and direct air capture with corporate buyers fulfilling climate goals. Junginger-Gestrich likens his team's role to groundkeepers in a stadium: “We are the ground keepers in a stadium [who ensure] the players have a playing field that’s in shape and no one gets hurt, and the audience can come and they pay their tickets and have a good experience.”
A key focus is balancing confidentiality with transparency in data collection across industrial chains, from agricultural residues to final users. The CEO stresses unwavering commitment to science: “We never had to trade off between rigor and allowing a not so good project on our platform for economic reasons. We always lean to the scientific and rigorous side.” This approach has supported partnerships with major buyers like Microsoft in advancing verification techniques.
Despite concerns over global delays in emission cuts, Junginger-Gestrich is optimistic about scaling: “I think we will be on the path to the gigatons by 2040 for sure.” He advocates for ecosystem-wide thinking rather than vertical integration to reduce costs and foster network effects. Such MRV infrastructure could prove vital as governments shape climate policies, potentially determining the success of reversal efforts. More details are available at carbonfuture.earth.
