Beyond the Billion-Dollar Market: Unlocking Carbon Finance

The global carbon market is projected to cross one trillion dollars by 2037. Yet the very people protecting biodiversity and restoring landscapes, rural farmers and Indigenous communities, rarely share in its benefits. Despite stewarding over 80% of the world’s biodiversity, they receive less than 1% of climate finance.The GREAT initiative exists to change that. By connecting smallholder farmers directly to carbon markets, we turn climate action into income, prosperity, and long-term resilience for the bottom of the pyramid.

Farmers as Climate Stewards

Farmers live at the heart of ecosystems. The daily choices they make, how they grow food, use energy, and manage soil directly impact carbon emissions and biodiversity. With the right tools, they can regenerate degraded land, transition to renewable energy, and drive down emissions at scale. But for decades, the complexity of carbon markets kept them excluded. Verification systems were too technical, upfront costs too high, and corporate players largely dominated the space. GREAT opens this door by helping communities take part in carbon markets on fair and simple terms.

How GREAT Unlocks Carbon Finance

• Regenerative Farming and Agroforestry: Adoption of natural farming methods that restore soil health, boost yields, and sequester carbon.
• Renewable Energy Access: Deployment of biodigesters and clean technologies to replace coal, kerosene, and firewood, reducing emissions and improving household health.
• Carbon Credit Generation: Verified community actions are transformed into high-integrity carbon credits, creating new income streams.
• Community-Led Systems: Revenue flows to households through transparent, locally governed structures, with women and youth playing central roles.

Together, these interventions channel carbon finance directly to households and communities regenerating ecosystems.

More Than Income: Building Resilience

The impact of carbon finance goes beyond money. Revenue from carbon credits supports education, healthcare, and small enterprises while reinforcing ecological restoration. Unlike aid or short-term subsidies, carbon income ties livelihoods to ecosystem health, ensuring long-term prosperity. Communities no longer stand on the margins of the green economy—they become co-creators of climate solutions.

The Trillion-Dollar Opportunity

Carbon markets are booming, but inclusion is critical. If rural communities are left behind again, we risk repeating cycles of inequality. Already, GREAT is working with more than 1.2 million farmers, showing that it is possible to bring those at the bottom of the pyramid into a trillion-dollar market—fairly, sustainably, and at scale.

Redefining Prosperity

Prosperity should no longer be measured simply by income. TRUE prosperity is measured in restored ecosystems, healthier communities, and climate-resilient livelihoods. Through carbon markets, regenerative farming, and clean energy, the GREAT initiative proves that people and the planet can thrive together.

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The systems destroying our planet are the same ones keeping billions in poverty. By unlocking carbon finance for the bottom of the pyramid, we can begin to dismantle both crises at once: ecological collapse and systemic exclusion. The trillion-dollar carbon economy is not just an opportunity for business, it is a chance to rewrite the rules of prosperity, justice, and regeneration. And it starts by placing power, tools, and resources into the hands of those best positioned to restore the Earth: our farmers, communities, and local stewards of the land.