The End of Greenwashing Is Now Within Sight
The Biden administration’s new plan to overhaul the voluntary carbon market is an important step forward.
Change is coming.
Photographer: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
The problem of climate change cannot be solved without capitalism. Governments have tried for more than three decades with little to show for it. And while more of them are now engaging partners in the private sector, the world is still lagging in deploying the full power of the market. An announcement by the Biden administration this week can help to change that, by beginning a much-needed overhaul of the market for carbon credits.
Global investment in clean energy has accelerated but is far below what is required to restrain rising temperatures, and governments will not make up that difference on their own. Much of the capital will need to come from the private sector. And while businesses and investors are eager to provide it, in one crucial area — carbon credits — a market failure is keeping them on the sidelines.