This is not the case. Overall production is not down, and dematerialization can be seen even if you restrict to particular sector that is not finance. OP discusses the case of agriculture for example.
One of the topics that comes up in article praise for cap & trade, pointing to the success of existing pollution laws.
In practice - last I checked, and I admit to not having followed them closely - I don't think carbon credit schemes have had a big payout just yet. I'm not ready to dismiss them, on the other hand. This might just be because more of the CO2 emissions get exported to the developing world, and so a true ROI has to wait until global economic goals start aligning.
