As primarily Texas natural resources management and conservation professionals, we find ourselves asked by landowners, public land management agency representatives, local communities, and private corporate entities about carbon markets, how they function, what the implications for rangelands are, how to understand current controversies around the carbon offsets and whether they should become carbon market participants. We’ve learned, as many of you have, that voluntary carbon markets have grown rapidly and continue to evolve in response to supply and demand, as well as controversies around credit quality and whether offset credits are yielding their stated benefits for climate mitigation. Given this transforming and sometimes volatile space, the future of the voluntary carbon market is hard to predict. Nevertheless, these markets are engaging landowners and affecting changes on Texas lands, and supporting informed and cautious natural resources professionals and landowners will better prepare us.
