Turning Crops to Cash

Welcome to the Strawman, the daily Climate newsletter that’s like a refreshing juice box on a hot summers day - here to quench your thirst for knowledge!

We love it when a new startup fundraising announcements introduce us to the intricacies of the Climate space. Climate tech startup Agreena’s $50M Series B funding round this past Friday was no exception. Agreena allows farmers to earn carbon credits by turning their land into carbon sinks.

No, not that type of sink. A carbon sink is something that absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases. Think trees, agricultural land, and coastal ecosystems.

So Agreena helps farmers adopt renewable farming practises like more sustainable fertiliser options and improved harvesting schedules. In return, these farms qualify for carbon credits that they can then sell on carbon markets. Agreena claims that they give farmers a 20% boost of profitability per hectare of land. They’re kind of like the tickets you get at an arcade but instead of cashing them in for a used teddy bear, farmers get cold hard cash. Ka-ching!

I don’t know about you but when I’m window shopping it’s rarely for carbon credits. So who buys this stuff? Well, businesses can only emit so much based on the regulations that apply to them, so they can go to these markets to buy up the right to emit more. And some businesses voluntarily opt to commit to Net Zero. That mostly doesn’t just mean emitting less but also making carbon offsets through these markets.

The Good: Farmers adopt better processes that not only improve their farms but also their carbon outflows.

The Bad: Emitters keep emitting and essentially pay their way out of their regulatory responsibilities.

The Ugly: Paper straws ofc.

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Until next time,

The Strawman