2026-01-24
As the climate crisis intensifies, traditional carbon markets that focus on emissions reductions are proving insufficient to stabilize atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. To truly limit warming, society must not only reduce emissions but actively remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This is where Carbon Removal Credits (CRC) come in — representing the permanent removal of a metric tonne of CO₂ (or its equivalent in greenhouse gases). Recently, blockchain and tokenization technologies have emerged as powerful tools to enhance transparency, liquidity, and accessibility in carbon removal markets. This article explores CRCs in depth: what they are, how they work, how blockchain can power them, real-world implementations like the Nori marketplace, and the opportunities and risks they entail.
At its core, a Carbon Removal Credit (CRC) represents the permanent removal of one metric tonne of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere and its secure storage in geological, biological, or engineered reservoirs. Unlike traditional carbon offsets, which often include emission reductions, CRCs emphasize removal — the actual extraction of CO₂ that has already been emitted.
For example, activities like:
Direct Air Capture (DAC) with long-term sequestration
Enhanced soil carbon sequestration
Forestry and afforestation with durable storage
Biochar production with geological storage
can generate CRCs once they are independently verified to have removed and stored a quantifiable amount of CO₂.
Unlike offsets that merely compensate for emissions elsewhere, CRCs are designed to reverse part of the existing atmospheric carbon burden. Each CRC is typically tied to detailed measurement, reporting, and verification protocols to ensure the removal is real, additional, and permanent.
Emissions reductions (e.g., switching to renewable energy) are essential but not enough. To achieve climate stability — especially the targets outlined in the Paris Agreement — humanity must actively draw down existing CO₂ levels. This is due to:
CO₂ persistence: Carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for centuries to millennia.
Legacy emissions: Past emissions continue to drive warming, even if current emissions drop.
Without active removal, the legacy of industrial emissions will remain embedded in the climate system.
Traditional carbon markets often trade credits based on avoided emissions (e.g., renewable energy displacing fossil fuels). CRCs, by contrast:
Represent actual removal of atmospheric carbon
Are not compensatory in the classic sense
Are designed to address the stock of carbon, not just the flow of emissions
This distinction is crucial as the world moves from mitigation (reducing emissions) to net-negative strategies.
Tokenization refers to digitally representing real-world assets on a blockchain. In the context of carbon markets, carbon removal credits (CRCs) can be represented as digital tokens — either fungible or non-fungible — that can be transparently recorded, transferred, and retired on a distributed ledger.
Blockchain adds value in several ways:
Transparency: All CRC transfers and retirements are recorded immutably.
Traceability: The full lifecycle of a credit — from creation to retirement — is publicly auditable.
Fractionalization: Tokenized CRCs can be divided into smaller units, increasing accessibility.
Market liquidity: Blockchain enables 24/7 global markets.
These features help address traditional carbon market issues like double-counting, opaque registries, and limited liquidity.
One of the most developed applications of CRC tokenization is Nori — a blockchain-based carbon removal marketplace focused exclusively on CRCs. Here is how it works:
In the Nori framework:
A CRC is issued for each metric tonne of CO₂ removed and verified.
CRCs are digital assets stored on the Ethereum blockchain.
Buyers purchase CRCs to retire them on the blockchain, ensuring the carbon is accounted for as removed.
This provides a transparent and verifiable mechanism for individuals and corporations to support carbon removal.
Nori also issues a fungible cryptocurrency — the NORI token — which buyers use to purchase CRCs on the marketplace. The design rationale includes:
Price discovery: One NORI token can be exchanged for one CRC (given adequate CRC supply), establishing a market-driven carbon removal price.
Monetary policy alignment: The supply of NORI tokens is designed to grow in proportion to CRC issuance, aiming to maintain market balance.
Liquidity: NORI tokens can be traded on secondary markets, enabling easier participation and hedging.
In essence, the CRC and NORI system creates a two-token ecosystem: one token (CRC) represents a specific carbon removal claim, and the other (NORI) provides fungible market liquidity.
A key challenge in carbon markets is ensuring that claimed removals are real, additional, and permanent.
CRCs are issued only after rigorous third-party verification, which typically involves:
Baseline assessment of carbon stocks
Continuous monitoring of removal activities
Independent verification to confirm CO₂ has been permanently sequestered
Verification often uses standardized methodologies and may involve sensors, soil sampling, or direct measurement tools — depending on the removal method chosen.
Permanence — ensuring that removed CO₂ stays out of the atmosphere long-term — is critical. Some approaches, such as direct air capture with geological storage, aim for multi-century permanence. Others, like soil carbon sequestration, may require ongoing practices to maintain storage.
Blockchain-based CRCs help by recording retirement events and preventing double counting (i.e., the same CRC being used twice).
Here are the core advantages of using blockchain tokenization for CRCs:
Blockchain records are immutable and publicly accessible. Unlike traditional registries that may rely on centralized databases, blockchain transactions are verifiable by anyone.
Tokenized CRCs allow small investors, companies, and individuals to participate in carbon removal markets that were historically dominated by large corporations.
By creating tradable tokens, markets can operate 24/7, reducing dependency on slow brokered trades and enabling price discovery for the value of carbon removal.
Tokenization allows CRCs to be divided into smaller units, making it easier for participants to invest in partial credits rather than full tonnes.
Despite strong potential, CRC tokenization faces challenges:
Accurate measurement and verification of carbon removal — especially for biological methods like soil sequestration — is scientifically complex and sometimes costly.
Ensuring that carbon remains securely stored over decades or centuries remains a challenge, especially for nature-based solutions.
If tokenized CRCs are traded on crypto markets, their price can fluctuate independently of the underlying environmental value, complicating accounting for buyers and sellers.
Global carbon markets operate under a patchwork of standards. There is no universally accepted standard for CRC tokenization yet, which may hinder institutional adoption.
As climate goals tighten and net-zero commitments multiply, carbon removal — and therefore CRCs — are likely to play an increasingly important role. Blockchain and tokenization could accelerate this transition by providing:
Global, 24/7 markets
Price discovery mechanisms akin to commodities markets
Greater transparency and trust
Investments in technology, verification frameworks, and regulatory clarity will be essential for robust growth.
Carbon Removal Credits (CRCs) represent a transformative shift in how the world thinks about carbon — from merely reducing emissions to actively removing carbon from the atmosphere. By pairing CRCs with blockchain tokenization, projects like Nori are creating transparent, liquid, and accessible markets that could accelerate investment in carbon removal technologies and practices. While challenges remain in verification, permanence, and regulation, the potential for CRCs to contribute meaningfully to climate mitigation is substantial.
