Carbon credit transaction network Carbonplace announced it has raised US$45 million from nine banks to help connect buyers and sellers of carbon credits through their banks and make it easier to participate in the voluntary carbon credit market.
The nine founder banks include: BBVA, BNP Paribas, CIBC, Itaú Unibanco, National Australia Bank, NatWest, Standard Chartered, SMBC and UBS.
“According to McKinsey, global demand for voluntary carbon credits is likely to increase by a factor of 15 in the next seven years. To meet that demand, Carbonplace is delivering a reliable, secure and scalable technology that will form a crucial part of the infrastructure for carbon markets to drive climate action at scale”
— Robert Begbie, CEO, NatWest Markets
The investment is part of a trend in the voluntary carbon markets to create a scalable, global market.
In particular, recently the World Bank, IETA, and the Singapore government launched the Climate Action Data Trust, a major new tracking system launched that will allow carbon credit registries to connect in a central database, easing integration and supporting transparency to protect against double counting and enhance trust in the market.
You can read our introduction to Carbon Credit markets for investors.