Jan 11, 2022   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Daniel Schrag to Join Climate Vault’s Technology Experts Chamber

Climate Vault, an award-winning non-profit founded at the University of Chicago, today announced that Daniel Schrag, an expert on climate and climate change and holder of numerous prestigious posts at Harvard University, will be joining Climate Vault’s Technology Experts Chamber. A panel of world-leading environmental scientists, technologists and policy experts, the Tech Chamber is headed by former energy secretary Ernest Moniz. Schrag replaces Sally Benson, who stepped down to accept a senior appointment by President Biden to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Dr. Ernest Moniz, former U.S. Secretary of Energy and Chair of the Tech Chamber, said, “The current rate of climate change mitigation is untenable, and it is imperative that stakeholders across business, politics and industry work together to scale ways not just of reducing but actually reversing carbon emissions. I am pleased that Dan will join us on this mission. We worked together closely on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) during the first Obama Administration, and I look forward to a renewed partnership.”

“Dan has made extraordinary contributions to understanding about past, current, and future climate change and about approaches to mitigating future climate change. He has received a long slew of awards, including the MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, and is a global leader,” said Michael Greenstone, Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor in Economics at the University of Chicago and Co-Founder of Climate Vault. “He is the perfect addition to the Tech Chamber, and his guidance in identifying and enacting lasting climate solutions will be invaluable. I also want to thank Sally Benson for sharing her wisdom and guidance that she is now using to shape U.S. federal policy.”

Climate Vault is reshaping the carbon offset market by using contributions from supporters to purchase and “vault” carbon emissions permits from government-regulated compliance markets – effectively offsetting the contributors’ own emissions. More information on Climate Vault’s approach can be found here. Through its Tech Chamber, Climate Vault will leverage the value of vaulted emissions permits to support breakthrough carbon dioxide removal (CDR) enterprises that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – opening a path to net zero emissions.

“I am inspired to serve on Climate Vault’s Tech Chamber alongside a group of such extraordinary environmental thinkers and leaders,” said Daniel Schrag. “I have dedicated most of my career to supporting technologies and policies that can combat climate change and its impacts. Climate Vault and the Tech Chamber are leading one of the most interesting and multi-disciplinary approaches I’ve seen. I’m eager to be a part of it.”

The Tech Chamber recently launched its initial Request for Proposal (RFP) for qualified CDR technologies with the aim of awarding up to $7 million in first round grants by the end of Q1 2022. Additional information about the RFP can be found here.

Daniel Schrag Biography

Schrag is Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology and Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering at Harvard University. He also serves as Director of the Harvard University Center for the Environment and Director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program at the Harvard Kennedy School.

His research has included work in energy technology and policy, including carbon capture and storage and low-carbon synthetic fuels.

Schrag previously served on President Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology from 2009-2017. He is the recipient of the James B. Macelwane Medal from the American Geophysical Union and a MacArthur Fellowship. Schrag earned a B.S. in geology and geophysics and political science from Yale University and his Ph.D. in geology from the University of California at Berkeley.

About Climate Vault

Founded at the University of Chicago, Climate Vault is a Delaware-incorporated non-stock, not-for-profit organization with a pending 501(c)(3) tax-exempt application. Climate Vault works with individuals and organizations to reduce carbon emissions by using cap-and-trade compliance markets to purchase and “vault” CO2 permits to provide a quantifiable, verifiable offset. Climate Vault will then use the value of the permits to support cutting-edge carbon removal technologies to remove pollution already in the atmosphere. Visit www.ClimateVault.org to learn more, calculate your individual footprint, and help your organization or financial portfolio reach net zero. Join the climate conversation by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.