Welcome to the C-Change Conversations Podcast, where we explore real-world solutions to the climate crisis with the experts and innovators working to make them a reality.

In this throwback episode, C-Change President and Founder Kathleen Biggins sits down with Professor Emily Carter, a pioneering energy scientist and leading voice on carbon utilization. Together, they unpack the rapidly evolving field of carbon tech, transforming harmful CO₂ emissions into products like fertilizer, aviation fuel, vodka, and even diamonds.

Professor Carter brings decades of experience in sustainability science, from leading Princeton’s Andlinger Center to her current role at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. Her message is clear: carbon dioxide isn’t just a pollutant, it’s a resource waiting to be repurposed.

🎧 Listen to Learn:

* How carbon utilization could offset up to an eighth of global CO₂ emissions by 2050

* What it really takes to turn emissions into products from diamonds and vodka to fertilizer and fuel

* Why direct air capture and ocean-based carbon extraction might be the next gold rush

* How microbes and bacteria are being used to brew aviation fuel from thin air

* Why working with fossil fuel infrastructure could accelerate, not stall, climate progress

* How clean electricity and carbon tech create a win-win for the economy and the environment

* Why innovation, not sacrifice, is the heart of a hopeful climate future

This episode offers a fascinating, science-forward look at how we can mine our emissions instead of our Earth, and build a better future in the process.

Learn more about our mission to promote fact-based, non-partisan climate education: www.c-changeconversations.org

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