In the climate fiction novel The Ministry for the Future, Kim Stanley Robinson imagines a tomorrow in which an international governing body established under the Paris Agreement ensures that present-day human actions take into account their effects on future generations.

To guarantee compliance, a global currency is issued called the “carbon coin,” whose value is linked to the amount of carbon extracted from the atmosphere. The carbon coin helps to finally incentivize bold endeavors like carbon farming and terraforming. In the novel, the carbon coins themselves can be bought and sold on currency exchanges, harmoniously nestling into the existing global capitalist system. Speculators don’t just plant millions of trees; they invest in novel forms of direct air capture. The power of the market is harnessed for the good of the planet.

Soon carbon coins are seen as an even safer investment than US Treasury bonds. Market activity continues — just not at the expense of a habitable earth.