“Money doesn’t grow on trees.”
You probably remember hearing this as a kid, admonishing you not to waste money. I was thinking about that phrase today as I envision a potential world that puts a price on carbon.
In some cases, we have already put a price on carbon in some countries and states and the market incentivizes green initiatives that reduce carbon emissions or pull carbon out of the air. There is the potential that carbon will become even more clearly accounted for in the market, likely driven by policy changes.
In that world, I would argue that money does grow on trees. Money is a man-made system that is a medium of exchange and measures value, according to Merriam Webster. Trees create value for our world by capturing carbon dioxide from our air, which represents a clear and measurable value for us. In a world that accounts for carbon, money does grow on trees.