19^th 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.[1] 

ENDS

About Net Zero Markets:

Net Zero Markets is a developer and provider of carbon offset and reduction solutions for the carbon markets. 

The firm’s first products are due to be released in Q3 2021. These products will deliver the level of standardisation, transparency and commoditisation needed for the carbon markets to flourish, thereby incentivising more finance to flow to the projects that are needed to achieve net zero targets.

Combined, the team has over 70 years’ experience in the carbon and energy markets. The company’s CEO, Louis Redshaw, is one of the founding figures of the European Carbon Markets. In 2006, he created a standard for trading Certified Emission Reduction (CER) carbon offsets that was adopted by all major market participants and the carbon exchanges. This commoditisation initiative allowed a secondary trading market in CERs to take-off thanks to the establishment of liquidity and price transparency.

Louis has fought hard to protect the integrity of carbon markets, including educating peer financial companies and various authorities including the European Commission, UK Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on VAT fraud. Louis has more recently served as an expert witness for the Crown Prosecution Service’s successful criminal prosecutions of fraudsters operating in the voluntary carbon markets, and two civil cases relating to VAT fraud. Louis has served as a Director on the boards of: the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), the Climate Markets and Investors Association (CMIA) and Tricorona, the 3rd largest carbon project developer.

Louis is a passionate advocate of emissions trading, and has dedicated his career to promoting the efficiency of the carbon markets to achieve not only carbon emissions reductions but also removals. Complementing Louis’ deep knowledge and understanding of carbon markets, the Net Zero Markets founding team have a wealth of experience growing products in the industry.

Tom Lord, Director, specialises in commodity confirmations, settlements, logistics and emissions trading. His expertise of the global emissions market enabled him to lend expertise to the reform of the South Korean Emissions Trading Scheme.

[1] While Net Zero Markets’ initial focus is on the VCM, it also intends to develop products in global compliance carbon markets.