Can Carbon Markets Offset the Emissions We Can't Eliminate?

"Carbon markets are simultaneously promoted as an essential climate financing tool, and criticized as a license to pollute. A carbon market puts a price on greenhouse gas emissions via carbon credits that get bought and sold, almost like stocks. A credit represents one metric ton of CO 2 that has been avoided or removed through a specific project. A project could target emissions through agricultural practices, CO 2 capture or reforestation."

"At COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the leaders of several countries launched an Open Coalition on Compliance Carbon Markets. The coalition stresses an international effort to establish carbon markets that operate at scale with credibility, through shared standards across borders. This emphasis mirrors the work of Shubham Deshmukh, who recently graduated from the M.S. in Sustainability Management program at the Columbia School of Professional Studies."

At COP30 in Belém, leaders launched an Open Coalition on Compliance Carbon Markets to create international, cross-border standards enabling credible, large-scale carbon trading. Carbon markets put a price on greenhouse gas emissions through tradable carbon credits, each representing one metric ton of CO 2 avoided or removed by projects such as improved agricultural practices, CO 2 capture, or reforestation. Verified credits can be bought by companies or governments to meet climate targets or offset emissions that cannot yet be eliminated. The markets balance being an essential climate financing tool and a potential license to pollute. Shubham Deshmukh works on how these markets can finance climate action and support farmers in India.

Read at State of the Planet