Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Determination of an Unavoidable Conflict of Interest: Christopher Jones

In accordance with Section 15 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the "Academy shall make its best efforts to ensure that no individual appointed to serve on [a] committee has a conflict of interest that is relevant to the functions to be performed, unless such conflict is promptly and publicly disclosed and the Academy determines that the conflict is unavoidable." A conflict of interest refers to an interest, ordinarily financial, of an individual that could be directly affected by the work of the committee. As specified in the Academy's policy and procedures (http://www.nationalacademies.org/coi/index.html), an objective determination is made for each provisionally appointed committee member whether or not a conflict of interest exists given the facts of the individual's financial and other interests and the task being undertaken by the committee. A determination of a conflict of interest for an individual is not an assessment of that individual's actual behavior or character or ability to act objectively despite the conflicting interest.

We have concluded that for this committee to accomplish the tasks for which it was established, its membership must include among others, at least one member who possesses current expertise in the practical application of and experience in developing direct air capture technologies for CO2.

To meet this need for expertise and experience, Christopher Jones is proposed for appointment to the committee even though we have concluded that he has a conflict of interest because of his financial interests in Global Thermostat LLC, a company whose financial interests could be affected by the outcome of the study.

As described in his biographical summary, Dr. Jones is an expert in the separation, sequestration, and utilization of CO2 from both dilute (ambient air) and concentrated (power plant emissions) streams. In particular, he has extensive current experience in catalysts and the design and implementation of amine adsorbent materials for CO2 capture.

We believe that Dr. Jones can serve effectively as a member of the committee and that the committee can produce an objective report, taking into account the composition of the committee, the work to be performed, and the procedures to be followed in completing the work.

After an extensive search, we have been unable to identify another individual with the equivalent combination of current, practical application of CO2 capture technology development and scientific expertise as Dr. Jones who does not have a similar conflict of interest. Therefore, we have concluded that the potential conflict of interest is unavoidable.