This paper presents the concept of regenerative versus renewable carbon fuels and materials on which Professor George A. Olah was actively working on at the time of his unfortunate passing away in 2017. As fossil fuels become depleted or their use constrained by undesirable carbon emissions, more sustainable pathways to fulfill our needs for carbon-based fuels and products will be required. Renewable carbon materials can be produced from biomass while regenerative carbon materials will be obtained by reductive recycling of CO2, constituting an anthropogenic equivalent to nature’s photosynthesis-based carbon cycle. At the heart of this transition is chemistry and catalysis. Development of new catalysts and improvement of existing ones are essential for these transformations. Methanol, an established fuel and chemical feedstock, which can be made from biomass and recycling of CO2, and therefore be both renewable and regenerative is of particular interest for the transitioning to a sustainable future.