Future Leaders Network
The Future Leaders Network brings together early career professionals working on Greenhouse Gas Removal in the UK, to support professional development and build knowledge and connections across sectors.
Established through CO₂RE, our community now includes 225 members, connecting people across the UK who want to contribute to the future of greenhouse gas removal.
We provide opportunities to share knowledge, develop professional skills, explore different perspectives and build relationships across disciplines and sectors. Our members help shape the network and its activities, bringing their experience, questions and ideas into a supportive community.
Our vision and mission
Our vision
We envision a cohort of multidisciplinary leaders who collaborate to drive forward an impactful GGR system within the UK and beyond.
Our mission
We will harness our diverse skills and expertise to build capacity amongst early career GGR professionals from the bottom up – through events, collaborative projects, knowledge exchange, informal networking, and other experimental approaches.
Apply to join the Future Leaders Network
Our members become part of a unique community of GGR practitioners, who convene regularly to engage in a varied calendar of events targeted at building the skills and capabilities needed by future leaders.
Members have access to funding and resources to support their own professional development, as well as the opportunity to participate in collaborative ‘microfinance’ projects to deliver small-scale experiments or programmes that support GGR development.
The Future Leaders Network is also a social space for informal networking with colleagues and peers. Apply to join the network today.
Connecting people and ideas: highlights from 2025–26
Throughout 2025–26, the Future Leaders Network has brought members together through site visits, discussions, networking and opportunities to help shape the network’s future.
Exploring research and innovation at Cranfield University
In April 2026, 17 members joined a two-day visit to Cranfield University. The programme combined talks on land-based carbon dioxide removal with visits to the Centre for Energy Decarbonisation and Recovery, a wastewater treatment plant, and the Digital Aviation Research and Technology Centre.
Members explored research across different disciplines, met the people behind it and discussed its relevance to greenhouse gas removal. Alongside the visits, there was time to build connections, exchange experiences and contribute ideas about the FLN’s next phase.
Opening up conversations about carbon removal
In November 2025, we collaborated with The Carbon Removal Show and Supercritical to deliver the Carbon Removal Chat Room in London. The event brought together people new to carbon removal and those already working in the sector, with FLN members contributing as expert guests.
Discussions ranged from policy and technology development to public perceptions, insuring carbon removals and purchasing credits. The informal format gave participants space to ask questions, share expertise and learn from different perspectives.
A community shaped by its members
In early 2026, the Futures Committee hosted a series of online consultations on sustaining the network. Members contributed views on funding, governance and community involvement, with further discussion during the Cranfield visit.
New member welcome calls, newsletters and our Slack and WhatsApp communities have provided additional ways to connect and stay involved. The FLN also had a presence at CO₂RE’s public engagement event in Bristol in June 2026, introducing the network to people attending the event.
Together, these activities reflect our purpose: helping early-career professionals learn across disciplines, build relationships and contribute to the future of greenhouse gas removal.
Our next chapter
We are preparing an application to establish the FLN as a Community Interest Company (CIC). Our aim is to complete this transition by the end of 2026 and operate as a CIC from the beginning of 2027.
This will give the network an independent legal and financial structure, allowing us to hold a bank account in our own name, manage our finances and plan for the longer term. It is an important step towards sustaining the community and opportunities developed with CO₂RE’s support.
We have also held productive discussions with the Coalition for Negative Emissions (CNE) about a future partnership.
Our intention is for the FLN to have a distinct place within the wider CNE community, working together on events and membership while retaining our own identity and independence. This would allow members to connect with the wider sector while continuing to benefit from FLN activities designed specifically for early career professionals.
Future membership arrangements
To support the network’s long-term future, we expect to move towards a membership fee model. This approach was discussed with members during our webinars at the beginning of 2026 and the Cranfield University visit.
The proposed fee and membership arrangements are still being considered by the board. We will communicate the details directly to existing members at the beginning of 2027.
Our transition team
The transition is being led by Dan Evans, working with Nadine Moustafa, David Contreras Díaz and Oliver Grogono.
Join the network or get in touch
For questions about the network, membership or the transition, please email exco@ggr-fln.org. You can also follow us on LinkedIn.
Transition Team
Dan Evans
Co-chair of the Futures Committee
Oliver Grogono
Vice-chair of the Futures Committee
David Conterras-Diaz
Futures Committee Member
Nadine Moustafa
Futures Committee Member