January 26, 2026
Building a Lower-Carbon Economy: Reflections from Davos
BY AMY BRACHIO, CEO OF CARBON MEASURES
Coming back from Davos always takes a day or two to process. As with prior years, this year was a fast-paced week full of roundtables, meetings, panel discussions and lots of walking! However, what's sticking with me isn't the flurry of meetings and announcements, but a pattern I kept hearing in conversations: lower-carbon projects struggling to scale, investments needed to drive a reduction in carbon emissions that can't find buyers willing to pay the premium, and innovation in this area that doesn't translate into market advantage.
A common thread across many of my discussions was that the markets and regulations we have today don't reward companies for producing lower-carbon products. We need to build something better. Addressing this problem is at the heart of what we are focused on at Carbon Measures:
- Building demand signals for carbon-intensive sectors.
Better data alone won’t deliver the pace of change needed in sectors such as oil and gas, steel, aluminum and cement by itself. The introduction of government-mandated product carbon-intensity standards can create strong demand for low‑carbon production and reward innovation at the lowest cost.
- Building accounting and accountability.
We need the development of carbon intensity standards that push more businesses to invest in, buy, and sell low-carbon emissions products and services, underpinned by accurate product-level carbon accounting. That will require a system that can deliver timely, verifiable data linked to product transactions, allowing companies, consumers and regulators to differentiate products effectively.
Product‑level data can also strengthen company‑level disclosures by reducing reliance on estimates. This will further underscore the importance of both voluntary and mandatory disclosures, while also improving their accuracy.
- Building visibility across the value chain.
A ledger-based system can strengthen companies’, governments’, and civil society’s understanding of the hot spots that need the greatest focus – and provide the kind of timely, transaction-specific data required by effective markets and regulation. This effort would increase visibility across the supply chain and help ensure emissions are properly accounted for in order to pinpoint areas requiring action.
- Building together.
Product-level measurement enables market transformation. But measurement fragmentation should be avoided, through dialogue with standard-setting organizations to help build a cohesive system, building on the strengths of existing systems and avoiding duplication. The conversation should not be about choosing between systems, but should focus on ensuring we have the right tools for different purposes. Entity-level reporting helps corporations understand and manage their greenhouse gas risks. And both product-level measurement and entity-level reporting are necessary; neither alone is sufficient.
Collectively, we must work toward the next layer of infrastructure that makes the entire system more effective, building upon the immense value of existing standards and knowledge.
The markets and regulations we have today don't reward lower-carbon production. And Davos only clarified – even more – what needs building.
There’s a lot of work ahead: standards to develop, partnerships to strengthen, policy frameworks to support. In the months ahead, the focus will be on building it – working jointly with NGOs, scientists, standard setters, policymakers, researchers, and corporations toward the shared goal of driving emissions reductions faster and increasing demand for low-carbon products.