Carbon has been lusted over in its diamond form. Carbon has driven economies in its coal form. Carbon has emerged as a 21st Century energy source in its methane form. Carbon is essential to the biosphere and threatens climate stability in its carbon dioxide form. Carbon is deadly in its carbon monoxide form. The emergence of C1 chemistry is the essential manipulation of one-carbon building blocks to transform them from recalcitrant to useful, from destructive to value-adding, from challenge to an opportunity.

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Learning to sustainably access the promise of carbon dioxide and other C1 molecules as a feedstock is one of the great tasks of sustainable chemistry.