While there are risks, we feel that carbon credits are just as, if not more suitable for retail speculation than cryptocurrencies as a universally-recognised commodity with clear intrinsic value.
Climate change is the era-defining challenge for a new generation of investors seeking more than financial return and who want to make a social and environmental impact.
The whole purpose of carbon credits is to direct financial resources into environmental projects that remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Launching globally-accessible tokens on a public blockchain is a very natural way of amplifying that effort.
Verra and other emission-reduction standards agencies have already participated in reputable sales of carbon credits to consumers, such as packaging credits as gifts for Christmas.
Now is undoubtedly the right time for innovation in environmental assets. It’s hugely significant that regulators such as the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission [CFTC] in the U.S. have woken up to the growing risks that climate change poses for the financial system and are now calling for a relaxation of the rules on ESG investments in retirement plans, for example. The CFTC is also calling for a global carbon price that’s high enough to meet the Paris Agreement’s world temperature targets.
