The Carbon Opportunities Fund is a global investment platform for trading carbon credits. It will leverage its investments in voluntary carbon markets to mitigate climate change. In addition, it will use innovative technologies to identify verified carbon credits.
The fund will help reduce emissions by promoting standardisation of carbon credits generated in emerging markets. In addition, it will help increase access to finance for certified nature-based projects. This will enable more sustainable and cost-effective energy production.
The Energy Blockchain Lab (EBL) and IBM have developed a blockchain-based platform for trading carbon credits. These projects will allow buyers and sellers to trade on a secure and transparent platform. They will also allow for the easy addition of new asset types.
There are many ways to trade carbon credits. Some buy directly from a developer while others prefer to use a digital carbon exchange. These digital exchanges use the efficiency of blockchain technology to make the process faster and more secure.
One of the most popular digital carbon exchanges is CTX. It has locations in Australia and Europe. Participants can trade credits from several industry standards, including GBP, EUR, AUD and CERs. To date, hundreds of millions of tons of offsets have been traded on the platform.
Another promising platform for trading carbon credits is IMPT. Users will be able to determine their total environmental impact and choose projects to support. Through this process, they will be able to diversify their investments and contribute to a more sustainable future.
In a similar way, the Aviation Carbon Exchange (CBL) and Xpansiv market CBL are carbon trading platforms. They work in partnership with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to offer a secure financial back-end process for its members. Qatar Airways is the first airline to use the IATA Clearing House. Previously, airlines had to trade through third parties. Using this technology, transactions will take just hours instead of weeks.
ACX, on the other hand, uses recent blockchain technology to create securitized carbon credits. A token, or a piece of information on the blockchain, represents one ton of carbon offset. Once the token is purchased, the buyer can claim to be carbon neutral. Moreover, the market is a lot more transparent because tokens are kept on the same blockchain. Ultimately, it is more efficient because there is less risk of fraud.
As of 2021, the trading carbon credits market was worth $271 billion. This is four times what it was in 2017. Experts predict that by 2050, the number of carbon credits sold will grow to $50 billion.
Developing countries that wish to reduce their emissions can do so by implementing the Clean Development Mechanism, which is a market-based approach for quantifying the benefits of such projects. Using the clean development mechanism, for-profit companies can sell their credits to consumers. Similarly, nonprofit organizations often sell carbon credits with a promise to protect forests. Eventually, these organizations have to prove that they have allocated their credits. For example, they can prove that they have planted trees, or that the credits they are selling have been used to produce renewable energy.