From carbon offsets to biodiversity and plastic credits, this article is a detailed explanation of the different types of climate assets you will find on the ClimateTrade marketplace.
ClimateTrade, the world’s first blockchain-based climate solutions provider, announces the hiring of Will Darrah as chief commercial officer.
Azolla Projects and ClimateTrade have launched a carbon farming program to generate carbon credits in the Spanish agricultural sector.
The Mar de Cortés Forum has signed an agreement with ClimateTrade and Spectrotec to support its goal to be carbon-neutral by 2030.
Spanish oil and gas company Cepsa will offset around 55,000 tons of CO2 from heating oil consumed by its residential customers this winter, the equivalent of planting 330,000 trees, thanks to a partnership with ClimateTrade. This initiative, promoted by Cepsa’s Direct Sales business, is a pioneer among companies in the sector in Spain and will consist of funding several reforestation and forest preservation projects to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. The company will collaborate in environmental initiatives from the ClimateTrade marketplace, most of which will be implemented in Spain and the rest in countries where Cepsa has a presence. Specifically, several of these projects will be carried out in areas affected by forest fires, such as Vilardevos, in the province of Ourense, and Hoyo de Pinares, in Ávila. All heating oil products are included in this campaign and Cepsa will cover the entire cost of offsetting, without passing any of it on to its customers. Thanks to ClimateTrade’s blockchain technology, customers will receive CO2 offset certificates with traceable project information, in addition to being able to individually monitor each of the projects through a Cepsa website. They will also have the opportunity to visit the reforested areas. This initiative is part of Cepsa’s 2030 strategy, Positive Motion, with which it wishes to go beyond net zero emissions to net positive, enabling customers and society to move in the right direction. The company has established an ambitious roadmap to cut its emissions, placing it among the leading companies in its sector. Specifically, by 2030, it will reduce its CO2 emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 55% compared to 2019 and aims to reach zero net emissions by 2050. As for the carbon intensity index of its products (scopes 1, 2, and 3), the company’s objective is to reduce it by 15-20% by 2030.
ClimateTrade, Climatecoin and FLACMA announce the signing of a Memorandum of Collaboration on technology transfer, research and development activities that will contribute to the fulfilment of Latin American cities’ decarbonization plans. Through this agreement, ClimateTrade, Climatecoin and the Latin American Federation of Municipalities (FLACMA) will work together to develop local carbon footprint offsetting markets/mechanisms, with the aim of achieving climate and health benefits. Climate change affects the social and environmental determinants of health: clean air, clean water, safe food and shelter. Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress. Cities are key to a net-zero emissions future, with 50% of the population living in cities today and 70% by 2050. Digitalization is driving self-consumption energy transitions, increasing distributed renewables to reduce the use of fossil fuels. “Partnerships like FLACMA are essential to bringing knowledge and climate awareness to different parts of the world; that is why, from ClimateTrade, we are proud of partnerships like this because we know that they have the potential to have a real impact on the environment,” said Francisco Benedito, CEO of ClimateTrade. “The cities and municipalities of Latin America have an enormous potential to contribute to the improvement of our planet through countless actions that will lead to a reduction in carbon emissions, but at the same time, they have enormous financing needs to undertake these actions,” added Leopoldo Arnaiz Eguren, Executive President of the Advisory Council of the Latin American Federation of Municipalities (FLACMA). “In the next quarter, we will implement several proofs of concept in different cities in Latin America, which will be based on the origination of carbon credits thanks to Distributed Ledger Technology (blockchain). The agreement is a significant opportunity to improve quality of life, sustainable growth, energy efficiency and increase productivity in large urban centres,” noted Javier Manzanares, Co-CEO of Climatecoin. The effect of climate policy uncertainty by national governments increases the urgency for immediate action at the local and metropolitan levels. Carbon markets have the potential to reduce emissions from cities and municipalities as well as increase infrastructure financing, and need to be harnessed to accelerate urban emissions reductions. About Climatecoin Climatecoin is the creator of the world’s first digital carbon asset. With a carbon-neutral blockchain backed by high-quality carbon credits, Climatecoin will fund credible, high-impact decarbonisation projects around the world, providing investors and climate advocates with a meaningful investment to offset their carbon footprints. The company aims to unleash a global investment movement to neutralise and reverse the Earth’s climate threat by democratising climate finance. More information at www.climatecoin.com About FLACMA Flacma constitutes the most important international organisation in Latin America in the municipal world, bringing together different cities and national associations of municipalities from all countries. The Federation’s main objective is to strengthen municipalities and facilitate their decentralisation, supporting their economic development in order to achieve greater well-being for their citizens. The advisory council fosters partnerships and agreements for these purposes and pilots significant projects linked to the SDGs and climate change. More information at www.cc-flacma.org About ClimateTrade ClimateTrade is a pioneering blockchain-based climate solutions provider, aiming to facilitate large-scale decarbonisation through continuous innovation. On its marketplace, companies can buy carbon, plastic and biodiversity credits, renewable energy certificates or iRECs in a transparent and traceable way. ClimateTrade’s API, Widget and Whitelabel allow customers to integrate the marketplace functionalities into their own platform, making their products climate-positive. ClimateTrade also leads efforts for digital certification of mitigation projects, and supports the digitisation of carbon registries. More information at: www.climatetrade.com
Confused about the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism? We tell you everything you need to know in this article. (Edit: this article has now been updated in our 2023 version: How the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism – CBAM is Evolving) In a bid to accelerate European decarbonisation and meet the EU’s target to cut emissions by 55% in 2030 compared to 1990 levels, the European Commission has proposed several measures to incentivize producers to pollute less and remain on EU soil. One of them is the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which would place a carbon tariff on electricity, cement, aluminium, fertilizer and iron and steel products imported from outside the EU, thus leveling the playing field for European producers and avoiding “carbon leakage”. How would it be priced? The price of the tariff would depend on the amount of emissions generated by the product and on the price difference between carbon in the EU and in the country or region the product comes from. It would be paid by EU importers of non-EU products. It is initially focused on direct emissions from production (scope 1), but could be extended to scopes 2 and 3 after a transition period. When would it be implemented? The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism would come into force in 2026 after a three-year transition (but proposed changes would move this date forward to 2025). The implementation of this mechanism would coincide with the phasing out of free allowances under the EU ETS, meaning that EU polluters would be forced to truly reduce or offset emissions, since moving production elsewhere would not spare them from the carbon price. Who would be most impacted? Within the EU, Bulgaria, Ireland and Greece are the countries most reliant on non-EU imports in sectors included in the mechanism: if it were implemented today, more than 50% of their imports would be subjected to the tariff. In Spain, this number would be close to 40%. Research suggests that the majority of products included in the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism come from Russia, Turkey, the UK and China. Countries that have their own carbon price in place could be partially exempted from the mechanism, as importers would be able to deduct the exporting country’s carbon tax from the EU tariff. These include the UK, China and South Korea, though the level of exemption would depend on the carbon tax in place and the sectors covered. What has been the global reaction? Several countries have criticized the EU proposal, including Russia, India, Brazil and China, and some have threatened to denounce it to the World Trade Organization, which could lead to litigation. Some European industry groups have argued that the legislation would undermine the competitiveness of EU companies. The proposal was announced in July 2021, and is currently being debated at the European Parliament. Interestingly, the proposed changes would make the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism more radical, with an earlier implementation date and more products included in the scheme. The proposal now has to be debated among member states. How can ClimateTrade help? As a European-based blockchain marketplace for climate, ClimateTrade is deeply connected with the EU carbon market. Contact our team if you need help to understand how this measure would affect your company.
Consumer behavior is changing. Driven by climate awareness, Millennials and Gen Z are prioritizing sustainability and urging brands to integrate climate action into their business.
Under pressure from investors, large companies and corporations are raising their expectations for certified carbon-neutral transportation. This trend is particularly visible in the case of urban mobility, business travel and last-mile deliveries. Investor and government requirements around decarbonization are becoming more stringent, while at the same time, compliance and transparency regulations around companies’ environmental impact are increasing in number and scope. The pressure to comply with environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria is real, particularly for large companies backed by institutional investors. Beyond supporting investors in identifying and mitigating environmental, social and governance risks, ESG performance is correlated with value creation for shareholders. It is becoming increasingly clear that companies with a strong ESG performance tend to be more efficient, less wasteful, more productive and enjoy more commitment from employees, which makes them more attractive to both capital and talent. Employees’ urban mobility Large companies have identified a low-hanging fruit to begin identifying and mitigating ESG risks: their employees’ and directors’ urban and metropolitan commute, particularly by taxi. Luckily for the HR and sustainability managers of these corporations, some taxi operators have begun integrating advanced digital services of high added value for their corporate clients. The operators and their mobile apps are starting to report on the carbon footprint of their rides. One example of this sustainable urban mobility trend is Cabify, an app operating in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Spain, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay. Since 2020, this ride-sharing operator has been sending yearly certificates guaranteeing CO2 emission offsetting to its corporate and institutional clients registered on its Cabify for Business (C4B). Thanks to ClimateTrade’s technological support, Cabify’s urban mobility app can offer its thousands of corporate clients in eight countries the digital tools they need to implement more sustainable corporate policy, and to pursue a traceable corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy around the urban mobility of their employees. This trend has been mentioned in various international forums attended by ClimateTrade, such as the Leadership Summit on Mobility Sustainability and Digitization that took place in Seville in November 2021. Business travel Business travel agencies serving large corporations and public organizations have also started their journey towards better environmental practices in their B2B services. These agencies, which specialize in managing flights, accommodation, car rentals, transport and events, are beginning to offer high added value services to their corporate clients, starting with the voluntary offset of business trips’ carbon footprint. Proof of this growing demand, Spain’s business travel association GEBTA is integrating ClimateTrade’s digital solutions to generate CO2 offsetting certificates for the business trips its members organize. With this initiative, travel agencies are supporting their own CSR strategy, as well as their corporate and institutional clients’. Last mile delivery Urban and long-distance logistics and delivery operators are becoming more aware of their own shortfalls around managing the ESG risks of their activities. They are starting to collect environmental data for their delivery vehicle fleets and preparing to share carbon footprint data with their end clients, particularly in the B2B sphere. Operators are also working internally with their operations and digitization managers to incorporate solutions such as APIs and widgets, allowing them to manage relevant data and create a B2B space and a shared dashboard with their clients to monitor the carbon footprint of deliveries. With ClimateTrade’s technological support, some logistics companies in Latin America (Colombia, Mexico, Chile) are starting to innovate in this area, with the goal of dramatically improving the quality of their B2B services. In 2022, these operators are expected to announce the first premium B2B services including the automated generation of carbon-neutral delivery certificates guaranteeing the offset of each delivery’s CO2 emissions. ClimateTrade’s digital solutions In the coming years, all products will be benchmarked by CO2, and consumers will know exactly how much they pollute before buying them, which will influence their purchasing habits. Carbon-neutral products and services are a necessity. But making it happen is easier said than done. It requires automated carbon footprint calculation and a reliable platform to give customers full visibility on where the carbon credits are generated. ClimateTrade helps companies to fulfil their most ambitious carbon offsetting commitments, empowering their sustainability strategy with our innovative digital solutions. After noticing the trend towards carbon-neutral products and services, we developed the ClimateTrade API, the first API REST that can be easily and securely integrated into the companies’ systems for them to be able to offer their own customers the possibility of acquiring carbon-neutral products and services during the purchase process. And this month, we launched the ClimateTrade Widget, a tool with similar functionalities, but an even easier integration process, making it ideally suited for SMEs and organizations with limited IT resources. The ClimateTrade API and Widget provide customers with information about the carbon footprint of their purchases and offer them the opportunity to invest in sustainable projects while offsetting it. Explore our case studies to find out how we have implemented these solutions for international clients. ……………… Want to know more? Register on our marketplace and speak to our experts. Article written by Francisco Martín, Head of Engineering and International Key Account Manager at ClimateTrade.