Outlier Projects advances research on nascent ideas with the potential for outsized impact on the climate crisis.

We support passionate, skilled teams doing focused work in three main areas:

Picture taken above, of ocean waves breaking on a rocky shore.

Carbon
Removal

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has clearly stated that the world needs to remove and store hundreds of billions of tons of CO2 from the atmosphere by 2100.

We have supported several carbon removal efforts, with the core of our work focused on founding and supporting the Carbon to Sea Initiative. This Initiative aims to strengthen the ocean's natural mechanisms for removing atmospheric CO2 using ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE), which could be one of the most scalable and permanent ways to achieve humanity’s carbon removal goals.

Carbon Removal Grantees

Picture of the Thwaites Glacier, located on the Antarctic continent.

Glacier Stabilization

By 2100, sea levels will rise between 0.2 and 2 meters. The most acute threat is the collapse of the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica, which alone could raise global sea levels by more than 1 meter.

Traditional measures like reducing emissions and transitioning from fossil fuels will not prevent the collapse of Thwaites or other critical glaciers over the coming decades. Glaciologists are now exploring how to intervene and slow the retreat of these critical glaciers.

Thwaites Glacier by NASA/James Yungel

Glacier Stabilization Grantees

Picture of the Earth's stratosphere, taken at a very high elevation above the earth.

Planetary Cooling

In addition to aggressively reducing emissions and scaling carbon removal, we may need other methods to combat the worst of near-term climate change, like frequent and extreme weather events. Stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) is one method that aims to mimic volcanic eruptions and can potentially reduce global temperatures quickly. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the World Climate Research Programme have recently called for more research on SAI. We are funding several organizations to advance scientific research and public understanding, including in the Global South.