In the aftermath of the 2020–22 pandemic, the global economy faced a serious energy and inflationary crisis that affected some countries more and others less but did not leave any economy unaffected. The global supply chain has been reshaped with new price levels, strengthened equipment producers and raw materials exporters, and a looming trade war between the USA and the rest of the world, shaking capital markets and reshaping priorities in terms of climate agendas. Yet the need to fight climate change remains and the search for capital to fund the just energy transition remains as well. This chapter is about the social cost of carbon and the necessity to apply carbon pricing in all economies. It is about the relevance of carbon pricing in climate-related risk management but also its role in supporting new climate-friendly technologies and penalize carbon-intensive ones (i.e. to ‘level the playing field’). Experts from the International Monetary Fund have considered that (i) the energy crisis should be considered as a wake-up call about weak energy independence and security and that (ii) carbon pricing can help strengthen energy independence and security by fiscally promoting domestic renewable energy and energy efficiency (Cevik 2022). An introduction to GHG emissions calculation is provided together with proxies that help ‘connect the dots’ and better understand how all sectors are intertwined. This is paramount to our community as the impact of carbon prices must be understood and used as a decision-making tool that helps steer our current and future businesses. Finally, the chapter also offers a deep dive into both the compliance (i.e. mandatory) and voluntary carbon markets, from the policy design to the use of the revenues funneled to fund the socio-ecological transition to a low-carbon economy.