The Global Carbon Reward is a system-changing policy for funding climate mitigation together with healthy ecosystems, vibrant communities, and reliable clean energy.
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2025 Policy Publication
Carbon Reward Policy
We are excited to announce the publication of our latest policy paper, which elucidates the carbon reward policy and introduces the world’s first integrated carbon pricing framework for managing systemic risks and bridging the global climate finance gap. Our website will soon reflect updates, including the renaming of the market instrument to ‘carbon reward’ (XCR) and other important refinements.
Download the publication: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17294364
Listen (2 Minutes)
Policy Summary
What is it?
● The Global Carbon Reward (GCR) is a climate policy designed to accelerate global mitigation efforts and safeguard communities and ecosystems.
● It includes a new funding mechanism, backed by central banks, that will provide debt-free finance for qualifying mitigation projects.
● It includes a new theory for pricing carbon, reallocating financial capital, and improving cooperation at all levels, including within markets and between nations.
Key Features
● The Global Carbon Reward (GCR) will finance emissions reductions and atmospheric carbon removal that is sufficient for systemic safety.
● It goes beyond emissions reductions, aiming to create positive outcomes for communities and ecosystems.
● It will introduce a tradable carbon asset—called a “carbon reward” and abbreviated “XCR”—that will be used to mobilise over US $3 trillion per year for successful mitigation outcomes.
● It will not impose direct costs on businesses or individuals, and participation will be voluntary.
Why is it a Good Policy?
● The Global Carbon Reward (GCR) will foster broad stakeholder engagement because it is offering a financial “carrot”.
● It contributes to financial system stability, and helps reduce debt levels particularly in low-income countries.
● It will require low-carbon projects to meet technical standards and achieve science-based targets over the long-term.
● It will avoid the practice of carbon offsetting, and it will reduce the occurrence of corporate greenwashing.
What is the Funding Mechanism?
● The Global Carbon Reward (GCR) will establish a unique funding mechanism, called mitigate-and-trade. Unlike cap-and-trade, which trades emissions permits, mitigate-and-trade will trade the carbon reward (XCR).
● The XCR will be offered to qualifying projects for their greenhouse mitigation outcomes.
● Demand for the XCR will be initiated by central banks, as they will establish a suitable price floor for the XCR via open market trading.
● The open trading of the XCR by market actors will result in the reallocation of financial capital on a global scale.
Updated 3 November 2025
2025 Climate Shift
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2023 Presentations
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Amsterdam Univ
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Introduction
❝ I believe we need a new theory on carbon pricing to resolve the climate crisis. ❞
— Dr. Delton Chen (Founder)
Dirty Growth
Carbon-Balanced A-Growth
(Carbon-Balanced Agnostic-Growth)
Carbon-balanced a-growth is an economic development pathway that we believe is superior to other proposals, such as ‘green growth’ and ‘degrowth’. Carbon-balanced a-growth is based on managing financial capital and natural resources to achieve carbon-balanced interactions between three market types. The first type of market includes (1) conventional industries that act as heat engines, and release carbon emissions. The second type of market includes (2) industries that are carbon negative and act as ‘negentropy engines,’ such as with natural or engineered carbon dioxide removal. The third type of market includes (3) fully electrified industries that are carbon-neutral. These three market types play complementary roles in the anthropogenic carbon cycle.
Carbon-balanced a-growth is designed to reallocate finite resources between the above three market types for the purpose of achieving a relatively safe carbon balance. This will involve a tradeoff between the following two objectives:
● the objective of social efficiency in the production and consumption of goods and services, and
● the objective of systemic safety in the mitigation of greenhouse gases.
The above approach is supported by an expanded economic framework for ‘carrot and stick carbon pricing’ and a moral compass based on ‘preventative insurance.’ Next, let’s take a closer look at carrot and stick carbon pricing.
Updated 3 November 2025
‘Carrot and Stick’ Carbon Pricing
The main focus of this website is a new type of financial asset, called a carbon reward (XCR). The carbon reward will be used as a global ‘carrot’ for incentivising and financing climate mitigation and co-benefits.
The purpose of the carbon reward is to improve systemic safety using three key strategies:
● funding sufficient greenhouse gas removal, and on a global scale
● financing sufficient conventional climate mitigation, including new clean energy infrastructure
● incentivising the 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.
For more information, see the 2025 policy working paper, here.
Updated 3 November 2025
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. Note that since 2025, the term ‘carbon currency’ has been replaced by the term ‘carbon reward.’
Join the Conversation
We are excited to announce our first major policy paper. It is set to be released in April 2025 as a pre-print. This paper will explain a new market theory and the carbon reward policy. We invite you to register on Substack, where you can join a public conversation and share your thoughts.
Feature Presentation
ZURICH GREENBUZZ
At this one-of-a-kind event, we explore the intersection of blockchain, currency, and carbon and discuss the feasibility of greening economics.
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. Note that since 2025, the term ‘carbon currency’ is no longer used, and is replaced with ‘carbon reward.’
The Ministry for the Future By Kim Stanley Robinson Cover Book
XR Interview
March 7th, 2024
