Bekenstein Climate Leaders
Olivia Rhodes ’25 MEM
Goal: Mitigate climate change through carbon dioxide removal
In her first semester at the Yale School of the Environment, Olivia Rhodes ’25 MEM took a class in carbon dioxide removal (CDR). The class changed the direction of her studies.
Rhodes arrived at YSE with a desire to focus on energy after a stint at a bioenergy firm, but when she learned of CDR’s potential for helping to abate greenhouse gas emissions, she saw an opportunity in a growing field.
“At the rate we're going without reducing our overall emissions, there's going to be a bigger need for it with every passing year,” Rhodes said. “CDR is an area that's very much still being created.”
As an undergraduate at George Washington University, she took classes on sustainability and environmental issues on the way to a degree in philosophy. After graduating, Rhodes worked in operations and sustainability at Enviva, a Maryland-based bioenergy firm. She came to YSE to focus on ways to mitigating climate change.
While taking the class in CDR, she became intrigued with the challenges of dealing with emissions in hard-to-abate sectors, such a steel production, aviation, and shipping. She sees CDR as a necessary part of combating climate change and is eager to work in an operational role in the growing field.
