Credit Pricing

How the price is composed

A purchase on the Carrot Network pairs two environmental credits from the same composting operations: a carbon credit for the methane emission reductions, and a recycling credit for the treatment of the organic waste behind them. The C-CARB.CH4 carbon credit is issued under BOLD Carbon (CH₄) and represents 1 metric ton of CO₂-equivalent (tCO₂e) emission reductions. The C-BIOW recycling credit is issued under BOLD Recycling and certifies that the waste was treated.

The recycling credit is a distinct asset. It does not add a second ton of emission reductions, so nothing is counted twice.

The US$ 33.53 is applied per C-CARB.CH4 sold, not per C-BIOW. How many C-BIOW accompany each C-CARB.CH4 depends on the emission coefficient of the waste type. The Credit Calculator shows that ratio, the resulting value per C-BIOW, and an illustrative distribution of the proceeds for every supported waste type.

The Carrot Store prices its packages at the same reference: one ton of CO₂e costs US$ 153.53, and smaller packages are priced in proportion to the CO₂e they state.

What a purchase delivers

The Credit Sales Terms provide for two delivery modes, immediate retirement and Registry Holding. Checkout currently offers only immediate retirement: every purchase, including every Carrot Store purchase, is bought and retired in the same transaction on the public credit registry, which records two permanent receipts:

• A Credit Purchase Receipt, which records the purchase and the certificates allocated to it.
• A Credit Retirement Receipt, which records that the credits were permanently retired and cannot be sold again. See Credit Retirement.

Both receipts can be verified in the Carrot Registry, and independently of Carrot's systems on the underlying public blockchain. Each certificate traces back to the MassIDs that record where the waste came from and who handled it. See Credit Purchase for the full purchase flow.

Where the proceeds go

The proceeds of every sale are distributed under the published Rewards Distribution Policy. At least 80% of each credit sale, carbon or recycling, is allocated to the categories of network participants who made the outcome possible, such as the Waste Generator, the Hauler, the Processor, and the Recycler. That share is set before any reward discount: where a discount applies, part of it is redirected to the Community Pool or the Impact Pool instead of being paid out. The remainder funds network operations and the Carrot Foundation. The policy sets out each share by waste type.

Prices in other currencies

The reference values are in US dollars. When a Carrot Store package is paid in Brazilian reais, its price is a fixed price in reais, set from the dollar value at a reference exchange rate and rounded up to a commercial figure; a campaign may set its own minimum contribution instead. The CO₂e a payment in reais covers depends on the exchange rate applied to the order, so it is an estimate until the order's quantity is set: before payment for a one-time purchase, when the order is created or the Pix code is generated, and at each charge for a monthly purchase. Settlement on the public credit registry always occurs in USDC, whichever way the buyer pays. See Fiat payment methods.

Comparing credit prices

Credits sold at different prices often represent different things. To compare offers on the same basis, check:

• Type of outcome — whether the credit represents an emission reduction or a carbon removal. C-CARB.CH4 represents emission reductions; removal credits are priced in a separate segment of the market.
• Methodology and standard — which methodology quantifies the outcome, and which body governs it.
• Vintage — when the emission reductions occurred.
• Verification — who validated the methodology framework and verified the activity, and the scope of each. See Third-Party Verification.
• Unit — whether the price refers to a ton of CO₂ or a ton of CO₂e, and whether other credits are bundled with it.
• What the price includes — retirement, receipts, public records, fees, and any minimum volume.
• Retail or volume — whether the price is for an individual purchase or a negotiated volume agreement.

A Carrot purchase bundles two credits and their retirement. To compare it with a carbon-only offer, set the C-CARB.CH4 component against equivalent carbon credits, and consider the recycling credit separately.

Carbon price references

Public carbon price benchmarks are sometimes cited next to credit prices, but they answer a different question.

In 2021, International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff proposed an international carbon price floor among large emitters for 2030: US$ 75 per ton of CO₂ for advanced economies, US$ 50 for high-income emerging market economies, and US$ 25 for low-income emerging market economies (Five Things to Know about Carbon Pricing, Finance & Development, September 2021). When reading these figures:

• They are a proposed floor for public policy, such as carbon taxes or emissions trading systems. They are not a price for voluntary credits.
• They are a minimum for 2030 among a group of large emitters, proposed in 2021 to keep global warming below 2 °C.
• They are expressed per ton of CO₂, while Carrot credits are expressed per ton of CO₂e.
• They are not an assessment of any credit, including those on the Carrot Network.

Related resources

• Credit Calculator — the open paired-pricing calculation and the value per C-BIOW by waste type
• Credit Purchase — how a purchase settles on the public credit registry
• Credit Retirement — what a retirement records and why it is permanent
• Rewards Distribution Policy — each participant category's share of the proceeds