Launched in 2005, the European Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) was the world’s first large greenhouse gas emissions trading system.
Each year about $272 billion worth of carbon credits are traded. These credits represent the equivalent of 10.5 gigatons of CO2, or about half as much CO2 as the US emitted last year.)
The EU was first, but it’s not the biggest. China’s new emissions trading system launched in 2021, and is already the world’s largest carbon market: 3x bigger than the EU’s.
In mid-2023, Carbonplace will be released. This is an enormous joint effort powered by seven international banks. Their goal is to create the standardized exchange for voluntary carbon credits
GHG reductions are additional if they would not have occurred in the absence of a market for offset credits. For an activity or project to be additional, the possibility to sell carbon offset credits must play a decisive (“make or break”) role in the decision to implement it.
One commonly heard claim, for example, is that a project can be considered additional if GHG emissions are lower than they would have been “in the absence of the project.” This is incorrect. If a project would have been pursued without the sale of carbon offset credits, it is not additional, even if it reduces emissions below what they would have been in the project’s absence. - offsetguide
Since its establishment in 2017, Nori has enabled 17 farmers to earn additional revenue and has paid out $1.8 million for the 117,000 Nori Carbon Removal Tonnes (NRT), equivalent to 1 tonne of carbon sequestered and stored for a minimum of 10 years. Sequestration methods include regenerative agriculture methods across 35,387 acres of land. A new partnership with Bayer and its network of partner farmers will allow Nori to expand the land area associated with its marketplace ten times. (carbonherald) (Bayer ForGround) (m13 memo)
Adam Neumann’s startup raised $70m led by a16z (May ‘22)