ZERO13, the COP28 award-winning initiative providing a digital climate fintech platform-as-a-service, and XTCC, the world’s first exchange-traded investment products for high-integrity carbon credits, announce a Statement of Accord aiming to attract $100bn capital market investment into high-integrity carbon credits. The initiative would help address the multi-trillion dollar annual climate financing gap.
ZERO13 is an automated AI and blockchain-driven international carbon exchange, registry and aggregation hub and ecosystem by London-based GMEX Group.
XTCC’s high-integrity carbon credits are from verified, renewable energy and regenerative agriculture projects focused on the drive to net zero.
The Financial and Digital Gateway to Net Zero
The announcement was made at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Futur.IO Davos Executive Reception, taking place this week. The partners presented the Accord details, including its approach to current carbon market issues, call to action, and methodology to achieve its goals.
The WEF emphasizes the need for $4-5 trillion in clean energy investments annually by 2030 to avert a climate disaster. So far, renewable power got the biggest share of the investment since 2015.
Signatories of the Accord commit to enhancing the integrity and credibility of carbon credits. Their goal is to strive for an economic model that rebuilds trust in the carbon credit market and enhances liquidity.
ZERO13 and XTCC encourage stakeholders throughout the climate value chain to collectively invest in digitally verifiable, high-integrity carbon credits.
The investment aims to drive community development and economic progress in the Global South and emerging nations. The aim is to empower others to initiate and drive change within the carbon credit industry.
The Accord serves as a financial and digital gateway for project funders and investors seeking returns. The initiative is in collaboration with various climate ecosystem partners.
By boosting liquidity through capital markets, ZERO13 and XTCC aim to create more opportunities to mobilize capital and fund projects.
Presently, the organizations are involved in over $1 billion worth of bankable projects in multiple countries. These include India, Brazil, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, and South Africa.
Establishing Trust in Carbon Markets
The African region, in particular, has been ramping its efforts as it jumps into the carbon trading space. Take for example, Kenya, which leads carbon credit generation in the region, contributing over 20% of the continent’s volume over the 5 years.
At COP28 climate summit, the ‘Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative’ aimed at accelerating Africa’s green industrialization, co-hosted by Kenya and the UAE, saw the participation of African Heads of State and key figures from green developers, industry, multilateral development banks, and global institutions.
The partnership between ZERO13’s digital carbon climate market infrastructure ecosystem and XTCC’s exchange-listed investment products establishes trust in carbon markets. It also provides a platform to meet the anticipated growth in the demand for high-integrity carbon credits.
ZERO13 DIGITAL CARBON MARKET ECOSYSTEM
Moreover, ZERO13 and XTCC facilitate the distribution of high-integrity regenerative agriculture and renewable energy projects in capital markets. This, in turn, produces carbon credits with complete digitally verified provenance.
The collaboration positions itself as a precedence in climate markets, blending private climate financing with large-scale capital from public markets.
Hirander Misra, Chairman and CEO of GMEX Group and ZERO13, highlighted the importance of their initiative, noting that:
“Through our partnerships with XTCC, multiple exchanges, participants, custodians, and registries we increase interoperability, digitally interconnect silos, and bridge the gap between climate tech and fintech. This enables us to scale climate finance across multiple APIs and blockchains and build capacity where it is needed most, benefitting countries, corporations and communities.”
Professor Lisa Wilson, MD of XTCC, emphasized that the partnership between XTCC and ZERO13 goes beyond infrastructure and a call for investment.
The Accord represents a critical pledge with the full commitment of all stakeholders to a sustainable net zero future. Investing in high-integrity carbon credits could potentially stimulate carbon reduction initiatives, playing a crucial role in achieving net zero targets. Together, they have established the foundations for a full end-to-end trusted ecosystem for high-integrity carbon credits, removing obstacles to allow investment to flow freely with full investor confidence.