Why Carbon Removal Credits Are Splitting the Market

Episode 50 of Climate Economics zooms in on a rift that's quietly reshaping the voluntary carbon market. Lucas and Luna examine the growing split between engineered carbon removal credits—like direct air capture and enhanced weathering—and nature-based offsets such as tree planting. They walk through a specific deal: in March 2026, Frontier, the buyer consortium backed by Stripe, Alphabet, and Meta, committed $80 million to purchase removal credits from a new direct air capture facility in Wyoming. The catch? That facility won't deliver tons until 2029 at the earliest, and the credits cost over $600 per ton, compared to a nature-based credit that trades around $15. Why would anyone pay 40 times more? Lucas breaks down the permanence problem, the debate over net versus gross removal, and what this means for corporate net-zero claims. Luna pushes back on whether engineered solutions scale fast enough to matter. If you're trying to understand which carbon credit actually subtracts CO₂ from the atmosphere versus one that just avoids adding it, this episode gives you the frame. #CarbonRemoval #DirectAirCapture #EnhancedWeathering #Frontier #Stripe #Alphabet #Meta #VoluntaryCarbonMarket #NetZero #CarbonCredits #ClimateTech #Sustainability #Economics #ClimateEconomics #CarbonPricing #GreenPolicy #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo