For voluntary carbon credits to be effective vehicles for funneling private investments into high quality, effective and impactful projects, the credits must have integrity and investors must have assurance that are achieving their goals.
As more companies and governments make commitments to address plastic pollution, several plastic offsets for claims and credit programs have emerged.
Fundamentally, a carbon credit could represent an intangible asset; however, depending on the jurisdiction and project structure, they may be recognized as a bundle of rights.
Investors face many head winds in shifting their investment portfolios to meet personal environmental and social goals, plus companies need time implement changes.
Voluntary carbon markets allow organizations and individuals to choose to purchase carbon offsets for whatever purpose. According to Ecosytem Marketplace, Voluntary carbon markets are on track to hit $1 billion in annual transactions this year.
Many investors want to invest in alignment with their values, but may also have significant barriers to making portfolio changes, such as incurring taxes or de-alignment with overall financial goals. One approach to re-align investors to their values might be to focus their philanthropy on issues deemed important. Investors who care about climate change might note that the S&P 500’s carbon footprint is 64 metric carbon tons emissions per $1 million of investment.
