Green Economy, Explained

Levelised Cost of Energy measures the lifetime cost of electricity from a given source. Solar LCOE has fallen 90% since 2010. Numbers from IRENA, Lazard, and BloombergNEF.

One credit equals one tonne of CO2 avoided or removed. Global compliance markets cleared $949B in 2023. Prices, registries, and integrity attached.

CDR pulls CO2 back out of the atmosphere rather than avoiding new emissions. Biochar sits at $131 to $164 per tonne. Direct air capture at $400 to $600-plus. Methods, permanence, market compared side by side.

Biomass cooked without oxygen until only the carbon skeleton remains, stable in the soil for centuries, lifting crop yields roughly 14%. Global market $996M in 2025. Prices, permanence, and economics included.

Engineered microorganisms grown in vats produce specific proteins, fats, and flavour molecules. Only 24% of 67 target molecules are cost-viable today, with the rest still expensive. The full economics of a technology reshaping food.

Fly larvae eat organic waste and turn it into animal feed in days. BSFL carry 38% to 52% crude protein and shrink waste mass by 39% to 80%. Full economics of insects as industrial protein.

Carbon locked up by coastal ecosystems: mangroves, seagrass meadows, salt marshes. 49 million hectares store carbon at five to ten times terrestrial rates. Storage, pricing, and economics.

Ocean agriculture producing 35 million tonnes per year. A single hectare sequesters 20 tonnes of CO2, carries four revenue streams, and lifts system output 60% in integrated multi-trophic layouts.

A debt instrument whose proceeds are ring-fenced for climate and environmental projects. The market crossed $1 trillion cumulative in 2024, 24 times its 2015 size. How they work, who issues them, what the data shows.

A practice stack that rebuilds soil health through no-till, cover cropping, and agroforestry. Purchased input costs fall 40% to 60% by year three. Numbers from IPCC, Rodale Institute, and USDA.

Soil carbon rates, transition economics, cover crop adoption up 50%, silvopasture IRR 6 to 14%. Complete 2026 evidence guide with IPCC, Rodale Institute, and USDA data.

Regenerative farms earn carbon credits at $8.81/tCO2, the highest price of any offset category. Protocols, costs, revenue data, and what actually gets credited.

LCOE fell 89% since 2010. 593 GW installed in 2024. $2 trillion invested globally. Complete cost guide with IRENA, IEA, and BloombergNEF data.

Solar electricity costs $0.044/kWh. New gas plants cost $0.039 to $0.101/kWh. Side-by-side LCOE data from IRENA, Lazard, and BloombergNEF.

Mycelium packaging costs $3,000 to $4,000/tonne vs EPS at $1,560 to $2,170/tonne but produces 60% less embodied carbon. Side-by-side cost, performance, and lifecycle data.

Ÿnsect raised $450M+, AgriProtein lost $38.9M, Enterra entered receivership. Insect protein works biologically but the capital structure keeps killing first movers.