The world is starting to use financial tools and innovations of the private sector to overcome the challenge of climate change. And in doing so we are creating a new and profitable sector of the economy — the carbon economy.

Within this new economic sector, companies buy, sell and trade carbon. Some companies buy carbon industrial emission waste to turn into clothes or other products, while others act as a carbon sequestration service to capture the emissions from a highly polluting industry right on site. And then that company could even employ another business for its own carbon storage needs. As time moves forward and new technologies and subsectors emerge,  many other models I can’t presently imagine will probably pop up, creating new job functions, career paths and businesses in their wake.

The interactive map acts as a coordination tool, helping carbon dioxide capturers, users, removers and storers find each other.

And the Department of Energy’s new Carbon Matchmaker tool is an important resource to jumpstart  this burgeoning new economy. The interactive map acts as a coordination tool, helping carbon dioxide capturers, users, removers and storers find each other. The map helps visualize the current supply chain for carbon across a region and allows the companies to identify the most fruitful carbon management partnerships near them. 

Carbon companies can fill out a form to add themselves to the map, providing  more visibility to potential partners. The DOE is clear to point out that the data on the map is self-reported and it does not verify or endorse any companies that appear on the map and it will not be an exhaustive resource of every carbon business. You also can not contact the companies through the tool, so DOE recommends reaching out to the companies directly. So find your perfect carbon match.