Carbon Balance Initiative is an independent climate policy think tank working to align the fossil fuel and industrial sectors with geological net zero
We combine academic rigour with strategic policy design, addressing the most urgent gaps in climate regulation
A world where bold, effective policy achieves geological net zero and keeps warming well below 2°C, whilst striving to return to 1.5°C
We founded Carbon Balance Initiative at Oxford Net Zero, University of Oxford, because the organisation we needed didn’t exist: one with one foot in academia, and one foot in the policy world. Our mission then – and now – is to translate the most credible ideas in climate science into rigorous, evidence-based policy analysis.
We believe meeting climate goals means confronting an uncomfortable truth: we will produce more CO₂ than Paris-aligned carbon budgets allow. That means we must permanently store the excess, not with offsets or accounting tricks, but with geological-timescale storage. This is geological net zero: an established physical relationship, not a policy choice, that the evidence shows is required to durably stop global warming.
From an idea to an initiative
Our journey began in 2022 with a walk through University Parks in Oxford, and a shared frustration: groundbreaking research wasn’t being translated and disseminated into real-world impact. We pitched the idea of a focused initiative bridging academia and government around fossil fuel and industrial decarbonisation. With support from early advisors and funders, Carbon Balance Initiative was born.
Between 2022 and 2023, our co-founders worked from within the University of Oxford to build the initiative from the ground up. In 2024 and 2025, we grew our team and developed deep partnerships, welcoming our first full time colleagues and expanding our research programme. In 2026, we established Carbon Balance Initiative as its own independent entity; the beginning of something new and exciting.
What began as a two-person initiative has grown into a nimble organisation working across multiple jurisdictions. Our work today centres on advancing the public’s understanding of climate science and climate policy. We carry out evidence-led research on net zero and the fossil and industrial transition, whilst building the knowledge and capacity needed – across academia, government and the wider public – to evaluate credible pathways to our long-term climate goals.
Where we are today
Carbon Balance now works at the frontier of climate policy. Our focus is to advance public understanding of science and developments in climate policy, law, and regulation on topics of net zero, overshoot, carbon storage, and the fossil fuel transition. We do this by:
Researching what geological net zero and overshoot means for policy
Bridging academia and policymaking with clear, credible research
Engaging with cross-sector groups to build knowledge and capacity