According to NASA, last year was the warmest year on record since record-keeping began in 1880. The previous warmest year on record was 2023. In fact, the 10 warmest years on record have all occurred in the past decade. The debate is over. Climate change is not only happening, but its impact can be felt on both a global and local scale — not just in small pockets in isolated places around the planet. Extreme weather, punishing heat waves, and previously unthinkable destruction caused by drought-fueled wildfires have brought the impact of climate change front and center. The question isn’t whether or not climate change is happening — the question is, how do we collectively address it?
It’s a complicated and urgent problem, and a complex, urgent, and multi-faceted approach is needed to solve it. We need to utilize every solution possible to reduce carbon emissions as quickly as possible, but because climate action is so underfunded (a situation not likely to improve any time soon), everyone is scrambling to get what funding there is. This scarcity has made the world of impactful climate solutions a highly competitive one.
Complicating this issue even further, there’s currently uncertainty as to what constitutes a credible emissions reduction claim, which continues to be a major problem for businesses looking to make real progress with their climate goals. Demand gets frozen thanks to the fear of wasting money and incurring litigation, and corporate decision-makers desperately need a net-zero framework that doesn’t have moving goal posts.
This scarcity and uncertainty means that at the end of the day, each and every climate solution that gets funded needs to be one that is actually making an impact—which is why high-quality carbon credits from verified carbon projects have such an important role to play.
Unfortunately, that scarcity and uncertainty is the only ammunition a small outspoken minority needs as an excuse to outright dismiss carbon credits and the carbon market as a whole, labeling them hollow promises or hall passes for corporations to pollute — but those dismissals overlook the transformative potential of a trusted carbon market and high-quality carbon projects for both people and planet.
If a solution makes a real impact in the fight against rising emissions, it’s a solution we should pursue. The answer does not lie in either/or solutions, it lies in yes/and solutions. It requires utilizing every available effective tool at our disposal to reduce emissions — and one of those proven tools, one that can make a real impact for the planet and its people, are verified carbon credits generated by high quality carbon projects.
How do we know high quality credits work? At Cool Effect, we know because we’ve seen their impact firsthand. From 2020 to 2025, we sent $66,152,974 to high quality carbon projects around the globe. We can track every tonne, and track every dollar — and each one of them made an impact on the planet and its people. Whether it was providing over 90,000 families with clean burning cookstoves in Honduras, generating enough funding to plant 40,931,340 mangroves and restore crucial climate change fighting areas of Indonesia’s coast, or simply keeping 7,67,677,832 tonnes of planet-warming emissions out of the atmosphere, we’ve made an impact for the planet and its people in myriad ways.
The impact of carbon credits isn’t theoretical. It’s real, and it’s happening right now. Cool Effect’s first-ever Impact Report, leveraging data from five consecutive years of work within the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM), exists to outline not just the impact of high quality carbon credits on the planet, but their impact on the people and communities who desperately need the help that carbon finance provides. Whether it’s infrastructure upgrades for communities, job creation, improved sanitary and environmental conditions, or simply additional income, the real impact of carbon credits goes far beyond just a reduction in carbon emissions. It can uplift entire communities.
Business leaders must demand more from the carbon credit market—more transparency, more accountability, and more impact. Seek out providers that openly share project details, verification methods, and long-term benefits. Don’t just invest in carbon credits—invest in integrity. By prioritizing transparency, we can collectively drive meaningful action and build a carbon market that delivers real, measurable change.
It all starts with understanding carbon credits' real impact. Here’s ours.
