An innovative platform was launched last week that is aiming to support a ‘just transition’ to a low carbon economy. JustCarbon aims to democratise carbon markets and establish a transparent and effective nature-based carbon sequestration marketplace, a vital requirement in addressing global temperature rises.
The new venture’s approach is designed to support the exponential growth of the global carbon market, which is expected to rise from around $272bn today, to $2tn by 2040. JustCarbon seeks to achieve this by improving market access, increasing liquidity, providing a clear and transparent price signal and encouraging new players to invest in climate action.
How does JustCarbon work?
Through its unique JustCarbon Removal Unit (JCR), the platform provides climate action project developers with a simple and accessible means of monetising their removal of CO2 from the atmosphere. JCRs will only be minted from the highest quality carbon credits that have been issued from nature-based projects within the last five years by Verra (VCS) or Gold Standard. VCS credits must also have an add-on certification such as CCBA (climate, community & biodiversity accreditation). This filter will ensure that JCRs represent robust climate action, independently certified against the most recent accounting standards from the most respected bodies in the market.
Available for purchase on the JustCarbon platform, JCRs have been built to operate ‘cross-chain’ and will also be tradable on third party exchanges. This will maximise liquidity, availability and provide fairer pricing with greater certainty. Additionally, it will allow project developers to trade without brokers or retails, enabling better future planning and further reinvestment of profits into their projects.
What about governance?
The other key innovation of JustCarbon is its governance structure. To democratise the carbon market, it will operate as a Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (DAO) ensuring no single entity or vested interest group will own or control the platform. A separate token using blockchain technology, called the JustCarbon Governance Unit (JCG), will facilitate community voting and decision making, ensuring those with the greatest commitment to climate action have the greatest say in the platform’s direction.
After a Beta phase in Q1 2022, when the platform becomes fully operational, JCGs will be donated to key stakeholders in the carbon markets enabling them to play an active role in the governance and long-term development of JustCarbon. Participating in the platform and earning JCGs will allow committed individuals and entities, including governments, civil society groups, banks and corporates, to play a vital role in JustCarbon’s governance and give them a stake in the broader development and scaling of carbon markets.
JustCarbon will also further support the development of the market by distributing its surplus funds into projects and activities that support carbon sequestration worldwide.
Who is behind JustCarbon?
The team which devised the JustCarbon platform includes Adrian Rimmer, a partner in Finsbury Glover Hering and former Head of Sustainability at the London Stock Exchange Group’s Capital Markets business. Rimmer has spent the last 15 years at the forefront of sustainability and ESG, driving commercial innovation in the private sector and international institutions.
The group’s founders also include Ravi Bahadursingh, Principal of the law firm of Chancery Lane Chambers, blockchain expert and a pioneering advisor within the cryptocurrency market; and Gavin Anderson, an experienced UK-based digital and marketing pioneer, who has worked with many of the world’s largest brands.
The current market has struggled to achieve its potential scale, partly due to its reliance on old technology,” Rimmer said. “JustCarbon is designed to make market access simpler and more efficient for both buyers and sellers, ensuring that engaging in climate action is transparent and accessible as well as environmentally sound.”
Carbon credits are considered a vital tool to finance sequestration of the world’s unavoidable emissions with much work already being done to create robust frameworks for designing, implementing and measuring the impact of projects. However, the market for credits remains fragmented, inefficient and often inequitable.
By giving away ownership and operating as a DAO that is governed by a broad and diverse cross-section of the market’s key stakeholders and participants, who will determine its approach and strategic priorities, ventures like this can eliminate many of the biases that have slowed the market’s growth and undermined its credibility.
