EXCERPT:
“This brings me to another example from the world of business. It’s a new company called ReSeed (where my wife is an advisor and where we also invest) which is a novel player in the carbon markets. The company figured out how to measure carbon captured on small parcels of land, and use that technique to compensate smallholder farmers, largely in indigenous communities in the Global South, for the value of the carbon they naturally capture through regenerative agriculture practices. With this extra income, farmers can invest in even better carbon-capturing, regenerative farming techniques.
These “farm fresh carbon credits” are based on measured activity, not vague promises of future tree-planting. And the fact that the entities buying the credits are generally from the developed world (which created the problem) while those getting paid are from communities that did the least harm (but are suffering the most) creates a compelling virtuous cycle.Baratunde Thurston in Puck – April 2023
There are many schemes in place to capture and sequester carbon, but not all are equal when taking the full picture into account. For example, we can have Western companies build machines to pull carbon from the sky and have Western nations decide how much charity to provide to the poor countries that did nothing to create this problem. We probably will need to do some of this in any future scenario. But I think we can do better. If we really care about justice, decarbonization must also include decolonization. We need to create a world where those who played a role in the extractive capitalist behavior that led to the climate crisis play an active and remunerative role in solving it. The good news is that we can do both when programs, products, and services are designed effectively.”
