Greenhushing, in which companies quietly get on with the task of decarbonizing without boasting about it, was once thought to be a way of avoiding accusations of greenwashing and complying with environmental-claims regulations. Now, it seems like it’s more to avoid rocking the boat with climate-skeptic politicians and consumers. A landscape where climate action can only be discussed sotto voce adds both a challenge and a potential direction for the important, but nascent, carbon-removal industry.
With federal support for climate tech disappearing in the US, project developers are trying to find a viable path forward. For CarbonCapture Inc. subsidiary True North Carbon, that meant moving its direct-air capture (DAC) plant to Canada from the US. For others, it means choosing to focus on parts of the climate puzzle that aren’t exclusively about CO2. In other words, they’re greenhushing themselves.