Opna

Happy Friday! Yesterday was the first #CarbonRemovalDay October 3rd will be commemorated each year to emphasise the long journey ahead of us, scaling carbon removal is far from over.... In light of this, here are the latest insights in climate and carbon markets for this week! 🌿 Three key headlines: 1️⃣ UK government pledges £22 billion to new carbon capture projects 2️⃣ Indonesia’s decision to renew sea-sand mining threatens blue carbon 3️⃣ UK misses deadline to submit nature pledge ahead of COP16 Looking for more? Check out our research and podcast picks! 👇 🔬 Research article of the week: Invasive species removal as a nature-based solution for climate resilience https://lnkd.in/dCgZeNqG 🎧 Podcast of the week: The Climate Question ⏯️ Episode: Can bringing back nature save our cities from floods? https://lnkd.in/dsNz8sGD Hear from Dr. Priti Parikh, Professor of Infrastructure Engineering and International Development at UCL, about the co-benefits of reintroducing nature and creating 'sponge cities' to reduce flood impacts. Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments! ✍

🌟 Meet Rachael O'Brien, Head of Brand & Marketing at Opna! 🌟 Rachael is passionate about building something from the ground up alongside a driven and dedicated team. With her background as a generalist marketer, she covers all aspects of marketing and communications, helping to establish Opna as a key player in the carbon removal space. Her motivation is two-fold: having a role which serves the greater good and spreads the word about solutions to the threat of climate change is important. But her biggest motivation is her young daughter, and wanting to help protect the planet so she has a positive future. 🌍 Before joining Opna, Rachael led the brand marketing team at Climeworks, where she developed her passion for carbon removal. Previously, her career focused on sustainability topics in the built environment and professional services in London. 💼 ✨ Outside of work, Rachael loves hiking, travelling and exploring the beautiful Swiss countryside. 🍃 She’s also a wine enthusiast, having completed her WSET Level 2 qualification, with plans to continue her studies in organic and biodynamic wines. 🍷 ✨ We’re thrilled to have Rachael’s expertise and passion helping to drive our mission forward!

We’re thrilled to share that our Founder & CEO, Shilpika (Shilps) Gautam, will be speaking at the Sifted Summit today at 16:15! 🌿 She’ll be part of a panel discussing 'Putting a Price on Nature: How to Solve the Biodiversity Funding Gap' along with Dimple Patel from NatureMetrics, David Lunsford from Stream Ocean, and Margarita Skarkou from 2150. With 60% of global GDP relying on biodiversity and a $700 billion funding gap, it’s a critical conversation about the future of climate tech and investment. 🌍 Catch Shilps at Magazine London in North Greenwich for what’s sure to be an inspiring session. #SiftedSummit #Biodiversity #ClimateAction #Sustainability

Opna is proud to join leading companies brought together by ACR at Winrock International in signing this open letter on the importance of carbon markets in accelerating climate action! 🌍 Here are just a few of the reasons why verified carbon credits must be part of every company's sustainability strategy: ⏩ Companies buying carbon credits are 1.8 times more likely to be decarbonising year-over-year. ⏩ Only 18% of committed companies are on track to meet their Paris-aligned targets. ⏩ Carbon markets have a critical role to play alongside supply emissions reductions. ⏩ Carbon credits can help companies decarbonise faster, with greater efficiency that increases ambition. At Opna, we’re committed to sourcing high-quality carbon removal credits that deliver real impact for ecosystems and communities. 🌱   Read the open letter here: https://lnkd.in/e5cQkyY4 #ClimateAction #CarbonMarkets #NetZero #CarbonRemoval

The power of connection ✨ As we reflect on Climate Week NYC, there are many insights from a formidable week of eclectic carbon and climate events. But beyond the latest trends and insights, one takeaway stood out: the extraordinary power of human connection. Here’s the reality—our planet can endure a 1.5°C increase in temperature, and even the 2.7–3°C warming we’re currently heading toward. The real issue is that we, as humans, cannot. In fact, many of us will struggle to survive even the 1.5°C rise we’re striving to prevent. So, where does that leave us? How can we change the course of our future? One of humanity’s greatest strengths is our ability to connect—across cities, countries, and continents. We are coming together to fight climate change, and it’s nothing short of magical 🪄 A heartfelt thank you to the amazing people we met—old friends and new ones alike. Watch this space! 🔮

Attending the CIFB Summit? 🌿 Meet us in London at the Corporate Investments into Forestry & Biodiversity Summit on Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd October. Antonia Nicholls from the Opna team will be there to connect with fellow sustainability leaders and discuss how nature-based solutions can help drive an equitable transition to net zero. Reach out if you'll be there! 🌲 CE Events & Media #CIFB #NetZero #CarbonMarkets #ClimateAction

Exciting news from #ClimateWeekNYC! 🌍 🎤 This morning, our Founder and CEO Shilpika (Shilps) Gautam was interviewed live by Tom Mackenzie on Bloomberg Daybreak Europe, sharing insights on how Opna is driving meaningful climate action through innovative carbon market solutions - in her words, "How do we go beyond carbon and fund impact on the ground?" 🎬 Watch the full interview here, starting at the 40:00 mark:  https://lnkd.in/dw3PPeS2 #Opna #BloombergDaybreak #Sustainability #CarbonMarkets #ClimateAction

#ClimateWeekNYC Tuesday & Wednesday wrapped! 🗽 As we touchdown on European soil, here are some of our highlights and reflections from the last couple of days in NYC 🇺🇸 🌳The team attended Chloris Geospatial’s New Forest Carbon Standards and Monitoring Technologies with speakers from Symbiosis Coalition, ERS - Ecosystem Restoration Standard, Ponterra, The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) and Wildlife Works Strikingly one point was made that 80% of tree species don’t have scientific names, making it harder to track and report on them. This level of granularity and detail, plus the need for raising carbon standards is integral to the integrity of forestry as a carbon reduction and removal method. 🤝 Also attended was a breakfast hosted by J.P. Morgan, BeZero Carbon, Illuminate Financial and Bloomberg where it was discussed that building trust is essential for success in the carbon markets. 🪨 The team also attended the Puro.earth CDR Summit, hearing from peers on the lessons learned across the industry, the need for reduction + removals, and supply + demand. Ultimately, we need more movers and shakers in the space to accelerate the carbon market. 🐝 The Nature4Climate drinks allowed us time to connect with fellow nature tech and climate tech enthusiasts and learn about some newer biodiversity technologies, including amazing things with bees! 🌿 Finally, we finished the week at The Nest Climate Campus in The Nature Conservancy wing, discussing the path forward for the VCM where it was pointed out that we must ensure local and indigenous communities are seen as partners, not just ‘beneficiaries’ of carbon projects, and the clear need for financial, social and climate impact to be aligned and balanced. 🔮We met some incredible people from all aspects of the carbon and climate ecosystem this week and we look forward to building meaningful partnerships and making positive steps towards our goal of catalysing carbon projects by revolutionising access to CDR and transforming carbon financing. Shilpika (Shilps) Gautam Matthew Caudle Rachael O'Brien

📣🎉 Exciting news update! Opna has been chosen as one of Norrsken's Impact/100, an annual list of the world's most promising impact startups. 🙏 The startups included have been recognised as shaping the future and trying to fix some of the planet's toughest challenges. For us at Opna, that means redirecting climate finance from the Global North to the Global South through meaningful carbon removal projects with catalytic impact. 🌍 Yesterday, during #ClimateWeekNYC, Norrsken's Impact/100 list was blasted across the Nasdaq Tower at Times Square. We were thrilled to be featured amongst the other incredible impact startups! 🔮 #100WaysToFixTheFuture Norrsken VC Atomico

So, how did day 1 of #ClimateWeekNYC go? We kicked off the week with our energiser breakfast, co-hosted with our friends at Climate Vine. Amongst an epic rock, paper, scissors game, heaps of delicious bagels 🥯and chocolate 🍫, we connected with some very interesting people within climate who we hope to see again throughout the week, and back in Europe! 🌍 Then, we headed to Flowcarbon’s CarbonSmart Summit where we engaged with our peers within the carbon space, talking all things carbon financing and carbon removal. To close the day off, we enjoyed a panel by Howden and Microsoft focused on risk resilience, followed by a nightcap at the CDR Happy Hour hosted by Carbon Business Council amongst many others. Day 2, let’s goooo! 🎉🇺🇸🗽 Shilpika (Shilps) Gautam Matthew Caudle Rachael O'Brien