Carbon Management Symposium - University of Houston
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Division of Energy and Innovation
University of Houston: UH Energy Carbon Management: Panacea or Hype? Symposium Image

Carbon Management: Panacea or Hype?

Carbon Management: Panacea or Hype?

Tuesday, November 13th
6:00 PM

UH HILTON HOTEL

Overview

Anthropogenic emissions have already contributed to a 1ᵒ C rise in global temperatures since pre-industrial times. It has been suggested that aggressively and decisively reducing emissions now could still limit warming to below 2ᵒ C, or even 1.5ᵒ C.

The difference between these two scenarios is stark and could prove to be disastrous for certain ecosystems and populations. But merely limiting emissions will not be sufficient to meet these climate targets. We will also need mechanisms to capture and remove what we've already emitted to achieve a net-zero.

Can CCS strategies and negative emissions technologies (NET) overcome the challenges of radical economic and technological inputs, the absence of regulatory and governmental support, and major land and environmental impact concerns to make the future of carbon management plausible?

Symposium Moderator

Image of Romany M. Webb

Romany M. Webb

Associate Research Scholar and Senior Fellow, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School

Romany Webb is associate research scholar at Columbia Law School and senior fellow at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Her research explores legal and policy tools to minimize the climate impacts of energy development and has addressed topics such as the regulation of energy sector greenhouse gas emissions under U.S. federal and state law; federal and state approaches to supporting clean energy development; and legal and policy issues relating to carbon capture and sequestration.
Webb holds a master of laws with a certificate in environmental law from the University of California, Berkeley and a bachelor of laws and bachelor of commerce (economics) from the University of New South Wales in Australia.

Symposium Speakers

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Brock Forrest

Senior R&D Engineer, NET Power and 8 Rivers Capital

Brock Forrest is the senior research and development engineer at 8 Rivers Capital and NET Power, where he focuses on the design and development of the supercritical CO2 Allam cycle.
Forrest’s work has included primary process modeling, engineering oversight and procurement for NET Power’s 50 megawatt natural gas demonstration plant, the world’s first supercritical CO2 power plant. He currently leads the design effort for the first 300 megawatt commercial NET Power plant.
Forrest previously worked for MWH, where he was responsible for developing over 15 industrial plants that function as aquatic life support systems. Forrest has a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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Steve Oldham

CEO, Carbon Engineering

Steve Oldham is Chief Executive Officer of Carbon Engineering, a Canadian-based clean energy company focused on commercializing groundbreaking technology to capture CO2 directly from the atmosphere and synthesize it into clean, affordable transportation fuels that are drop-in compatible with existing engines and infrastructure.
Oldman has more than 20 years of executive experience, including previous roles in technology, robotics and areospace sectors. He has been involved in a number of “Canada firsts” in technology commercialization, including the first robot used to perform brain surgery, first radar satellite and robots that clean the inside of nuclear reactors.
He has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science from the University of Birmingham in England.
Bill Peacock - Vice President of Research, Texas Public Policy Foundation

Bill Peacock

Vice President of Research, Texas Public Policy Foundation

Bill Peacock is the vice president of research at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, where he oversees the accuracy, integrity and applications of free market principles of foundation research on issues facing Texas and the nation.
His own research focuses on energy, economic freedom and growth, property rights and regulatory issues, with an emphasis on identifying and reducing the harmful effects of regulations on the economy, businesses and consumers. He has extensive experience in Texas government and policy.
Peacock holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Northern Colorado and an MBA with an emphasis in public finance from the University of Houston.