Carbon credits and offsets continue to gain adoption in the pursuit of net zero. And now one of the world’s most influential banks is coming back for carbon trading.
What’s happening:
- London based bank Barclays is re-entering the carbon trading market after nearly a decade hiatus
- Barclays will build out an institutional trading arm for carbon credits and carbon offsets
Why it matters:
- This is widely seen as a significant move by Barclays to embrace carbon and one that represents the potential opportunity coming in carbon credits
- Purchasing carbon offsets has increasingly become a part of companies approach to getting closer to net zero emissions
Going deeper:
- Barclays has brought on Oliver Morning to lead their carbon efforts, who previously ran carbon trading for Shell
- Other banks such as JPMorgan have previously dabbled in the carbon trading space but ultimately backed away due to regulatory constraints
By the numbers:
- Many expect the voluntary carbon market to eventually hit $1 trillion as more and more companies pile in to purchase offsets
