Solving the systemic issues that hold back the voluntary carbon market

19th July 2021, London

A team of carbon market experts in London has launched Net Zero Markets to provide offsetters with a genuine path to net zero. It will do this by developing and delivering next-generation offsetting products that combine transparency, commoditisation and two-way pricing.  These products will be made available through alliances with exchanges and other trading platforms.  Net Zero Markets is planning to launch its first products in Q3 2021.

The current endemic issues of poor price transparency, mistrust, profiteering and historic criminal practices in the voluntary carbon market (VCM) are well-documented. Its problems stem from a lack of a common set of rules and market standardisation.

By championing simplicity and price transparency for offsetters, and liquidity and fungibility for investors, Net Zero Markets will provide the tools that will enable the voluntary carbon markets to scale. The company’s mission is to bring the VCM to a level of maturity that allows it to fulfil its core purpose: facilitating the wholesale reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The founders have been at the forefront of carbon markets since their inception. Between them, they draw on over seventy years’ combined experience in environmental, energy, legal and financial markets.

The company’s CEO, Louis Redshaw, is well-known as a founding participant in the carbon markets. In 2004, Louis established the Environmental Markets team at Barclays Bank plc which he led for 10 years. In 2006, Louis and his team created a standard for trading Certified Emission Reduction (CER) carbon offsets that was adopted by all major market participants and the carbon exchanges. This innovation allowed a secondary trading market in CERs to develop and mature through liquidity and price transparency.

Louis Redshaw, CEO of Net Zero Markets, comments: “I’ve been consistently frustrated with the closed-shop nature of the global voluntary carbon markets. Something that was set-up to slow down and reverse climate change, is simply not working as well as it should. The markets are hamstrung by a lack of commoditisation and information asymmetry, resulting in rampant price gouging at the expense of revenue heading to where it needs to: emissions reducing projects.

“In the absence of genuine sheriffs, we will be bringing trust, transparency, and reliability to the Wild West of carbon offsetting. Offsetting is much harder than it should be. Our products will provide a very simple and transparent solution for offsetters who, above all, just need confidence in what they are buying, and to sellers that want to know that they are receiving a fair price. Only in this way can the voluntary carbon market reach its full potential”.

Complementing Louis’s deep knowledge and understanding of carbon markets, the wider team has a wealth of experience innovating and growing markets, with an emphasis on carbon and energy trading and risk management. The founding team of Net Zero Markets will provide next-generation products to tackle the challenges of the industry head-on and work towards a more transparent and accessible future for carbon markets*.