The decarbonization market is growing because it cuts costs, expert says

Even though Trump pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Accord, a new report indicates that the country and the world will continue to decarbonize. That’s because the decarbonization market is growing—specifically “decarbonization-as-a-service,” or companies being hired by other organizations to reduce their energy emissions and carbon footprint.

According to Valuates Reports and QYR Research, the worldwide decarbonization-as-a-service market is projected to be valued at $20 billion by 2030. In 2023, that market was valued at $170 million. And in the US, the decarbonization-as-a-service market will be valued at more than $4 billion (a huge increase from approximately $54 million in 2023).

But how can the US market grow without as much federal pressure to decarbonize? Jay Ruckelshaus, who co-founded carbon and energy management company Gravity, told Tech Brew that even though federal decarbonization regulations may be overturned by the Trump administration, the market will still continue to grow because many companies must adhere to state and/or international regulations. Additionally, domestic companies that work in states without decarbonization laws might still have to keep their emissions in check to comply with their big clients’ Scope 3 goals.

Plus, many companies aren’t just decarbonizing because they have to—they’re doing so because it saves money. Ruckelshaus said that’s certainly the case for many of the companies that Gravity works with in the Rust Belt.

“Every kilowatt hour has a couple cents attached to it; same with every therm of natural gas,” Ruckelshaus said. “[There’s a] natural alliance between being efficient and smart with your energy spend, and being smarter with your energy emissions.”

That’s why Ruckelshaus thinks that decarbonization-as-a-service approaches that are focused solely on “disclosure and measurement for its own sake” are going to struggle in more scrutinous political environments.

“If we’re gonna expand the energy transition beyond the first movers,” Ruckelshaus said, “it has to be broad-based.”