A series of flawed methodologies, conflicting market incentives & a handful of bad actors have left us with a carbon market that has, by and large, failed to make a net positive contribution to our net zero transition.
- No standardized guidance on how carbon credits can contribute to a voluntary net zero
- Lack of supply of carbon credits that remove fossil fuel emissions on the same carbon cycle (aka permanent removals)
- Expensive for buyers to enter the market for permanent removals
- Lack of trust & transparency in the system
To help buyers break through the complexity of the market & overcome barriers to entry - a wave of quality assurance providers stepped into the market.
While many quality assurance providers have been able to cultivate more demand by mitigating some of these risks & enabling buyers to engage in the market with greater confidence - the market is still facing an uncertain future.
To grow the VCM at the speed & scale required to avoid a scenario of 1.5 or even 2 degrees of warming - we must go back to first principles & rebuild the market on solid foundations.
To build a robust & scalable VCM we must establish:
1. Scientific Rigor: Independent standards & exchanges built with scientific rigor and transparency
2. Like for Like: Market consensus on which carbon credit pathways apply to different emission sources
3. Transparent Market: Independent data & information accessible to all market participants
Over the past couple of years we have seen new market entrants coming in to drive this reset & strengthen the market. However, there is still a massive information gap between the buy side & sell side limiting the ability of the market to scale.
When there is an imbalance or asymmetry of information between the buy & sell side of a market, friction is inevitable & the velocity at which the market can scale declines.
When Bloomberg empowered the buy side with information that previously had been almost entirely in the hands of the sell side - he made an opaque market transparent & volumes soared. In the VCM, suppliers working to sequester & store carbon to trade as credits with corporate buyers, do not have a clear indication of what buyers are looking for.
While there are many solutions out there helping create new standards & empower buyers with information to make purchases - the fragmentation of the market that persists makes it incredibly difficult for suppliers to understand demand signals & preferences, stalling sales.
Gentoo is committed to revolutionizing the Voluntary Carbon Market by providing carbon removal companies with the tools and information required to succeed. Our AI-powered platform helps to shed a much needed light on corporate net zero, saving you 80% of your time finding & analyzing buyers.
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Juliet is an impact-driven leader, passionate about building the next generation of the carbon market that can be relied on to achieve net zero. She brings a unique skillset across science, product management & strategy consulting to her role as Founder and CEO at Gentoo.
Joe is a data scientist who specialises in developing and maintaining production AI. He has experience in building a wide range of data and AI solutions for clients in financial services, telecommunications and the public sector. He is passionate about leveraging AI to create better user experiences.
