FROM CLIMATE GRIDLOCK TO A REGENERATIVE FINANCIAL SYSTEM GLOBAL CARBON REWARD

The Global Carbon Reward is a system-changing policy for funding climate mitigation together with healthy ecosystems, vibrant communities, and reliable clean energy.

Quote

I believe we need a new theory on carbon pricing to resolve the climate crisis.

— Dr. Delton Chen (Founder)

Key 2023 Presentations

EcoCity Summit

Bank of England

Amsterdam Univ

COP28

Introduction

Dirty Growth

The world economy, as it functions today, must grow to remain stable. However, this growth is unsustainable because it is producing excessive greenhouse gas emissions, global heating, and ecosystem breakdown. How can we resolve this conundrum?

Balanced Growth in Carbon

A resolution to the conundrum of dirty economic growth is presented here as the ‘Global Carbon Reward‘. This is a new climate policy that will establish what is called ‘balanced growth in carbon’. Balanced growth in carbon is a new economic development pathway that can safely manage the carbon cycle by unlocking scalable finance for clean energy, carbon removal, and social and ecological regeneration. 

Balanced growth in carbon is a major new development pathway that we believe is superior to other development pathways, such as ‘green growth’ and ‘degrowth’. The new development pathway is based on a dual-economy architecture, including a new mitigative economy that will interact with the regular consumptive economy for the purpose of reallocating financial capital and material resources. Balanced growth in carbon will involve a tradeoff between two universally important objectives, as follows:

the consumptive economy will aim for socially efficient production and consumption, whereas
the mitigative economy will aim for safe and regenerative carbon cycling.

As the two economic systems strive for their specific objectives, a trade-off will emerge because energy is always in finite supply.

This project provides a theory, a moral framework, and a policy toolkit for explaining and implementing the approach. The theory includes a new ‘systems diagram’ for describing the dual-economy architecture and for explaining the wealth transfer process for climate mitigation at speed and scale.

Updated 11 February 2024
Note that ‘optimal growth’ has been replaced with ‘balanced growth in carbon’ for reasons of clarity.

‘Carrot and Stick’ Carbon Pricing

We make the claim that balanced growth in carbon can be achieved by combining ‘carrot and stick’ carbon pricing. Most people are familiar with sticks. These include carbon taxes and cap-and-trade.

The main focus of this website is a new type of monetary finance, called a ‘Global Carbon Reward’. The carbon reward will be a global ‘carrot’ for incentivising and funding climate mitigation and co-benefits.

The purpose of the carbon reward is to improve carbon safety using three key strategies:

funding sufficient greenhouse gas removal, and on a global scale

funding sufficient conventional climate mitigation, including new clean energy infrastructure

funding regeneration of natural, social and built capital.

The economic policy for the carbon reward has four key features:

a global price for mitigated carbon

no direct costs

no carbon offsetting and no carbon trading in the policy

stakeholder representation.

The website introduces to the Global Carbon Reward policy and project, including the new theory on carbon pricing.

Updated 11 February 2024

Interview

WSJ: Could a Carbon Coin Save the Planet?

Could a ‘Carbon Coin’ Save the Planet?

Scott Patterson at the WSJ takes a look at why a carbon currency (aka “carbon coin”) could transform the economy. He talks with Australian civil engineer Delton Chen, to review the carbon currency that is portrayed in Kim Stanley Robinson’s climate-catastrophe novel.

WSJ

Feature Presentation

BARD COLLEGE

Why “Carbon Rewards” Should be Adopted to Resolve the Climate Crisis

Feature Podcast

KIM STANLEY ROBINSON
KATE RAWORTH
DELTON CHEN
Will fighting climate change require restructuring the global economy? Is a “carbon currency” the most intuitive or efficient solution to the climate crisis? Casey Pickett chats with Kim Stanley Robinson, Kate Raworth (Doughnut Economics), and Delton Chen.
Science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson writes about “the Chen paper” in his latest novel: The Ministry for the Future.
The Ministry for the Future By Kim Stanley Robinson Cover Book

Getting Started

Demonstration

We aim to showcase the utility of the Global Carbon Reward by establishing a live demonstration of the financial mechanism and associated administration. The financial mechanism is fully scalable, debt-free, and provides precisely targeted finance. The administrative tasks include the evaluation of carbon rewards and reward weightings, as introduced below. Such a demonstration will require public-private partnerships between a government and a number of low-carbon projects. During the demonstration, the proposed carbon currency and the associated financial mechanism will be simulated in a proof-of-concept. This proof-of-concept might involve a “carbon coin”. The role of central banks in supporting the exchange rate of the carbon coin will be simulated using a managed fund.

In a real-world application of the Global Carbon Reward policy, the trading of the carbon currency will not involve any carbon offsetting and this is because the carbon currency does not convey the ownership of mitigated carbon. The carbon currency only acts as a store of value. Information on the pricing theory and the system of governance can be found via the links in the main menu.

Updated 5 January 2022

Carbon Rewards

Each low-carbon project in the live demonstration will be issued rewards according to the mass of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) that they mitigate over time (see Introduction & Carbon Rewards). This will involve the application of reward rules that address each mitigation type and technology. Three types of climate action will be eligible to earn the reward payments (see links below).

A reward for reducing the carbon intensity of energy supplies.

Webinar #2

A reward for reducing the carbon intensity of business cashflow.

A reward for removing carbon from the ambient atmosphere.

Reward Weightings

Reward weightings will be used to adjust the rewards higher/lower based on the good/bad impacts on energy reliability, community wellbeing, and ecosystem health (see Reward Weightings). This will involve establishing a statistical consensus based on stakeholder surveys. The three kinds of reward weightings will be assessed for the benefit of people and planet (see links below).

A reward weighting for more reliable energy supplies.

A reward weighting for better community outcomes.

A reward weighting for protecting and restoring ecosystems.

PARTNER

We welcome enquiries and proposals to partner and collaborate on the topics of climate policy, digital technologies, and demonstration projects.

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COP28 Interview

December 12th, 2023


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