Diego Saez Gil

🌎 California's second carbon market auction of the year has raised significant revenue at a critical time for climate funds! 💰🌿 The latest Western Climate Initiative auction results show continued demand for allowances and confidence in the program's stability. This auction is expected to generate approximately $1.1 Billion for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), which funds initiatives aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building climate resilience. 🌱🚉 📈 Key Highlights: - All 51,589,488 current vintage allowances were purchased, marking the 15th consecutive sold-out auction. - The current auction settled at $37.02, significantly above the $24.04 price floor. - All 7,211,000 future vintage allowances offered were sold, settling at $38.35. 💼🌟 Over the past decade, investments from the GGRF have reduced California's emissions by 109.2 million metric tons—equivalent to removing 80% of the state's gas cars from the road! These funds have supported zero-emissions transport, affordable housing, and other critical projects. 🔥 As California faces another summer with heightened wildfire risks and evident climate change impacts, the importance of the GGRF is clearer than ever. Despite the slight dip in settlement prices, strong demand continues, reflecting the market's stability. 🌿🌍 Let's continue to invest in a sustainable future and support initiatives that make a real difference! https://lnkd.in/grvTCJ-y #ClimateAction #Sustainability #GreenFuture #CaliforniaClimate #CarbonMarket

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Huge thanks to GreenBiz Group and LaRonda Peterson for giving me the platform to talk write about my report. I love how you’ve framed it:   “The founding CEO of Verra explores how carbon markets — already a crucial tool in our climate toolbox — can catalyze the global shift to a green economy.”   The article can be read here: https://lnkd.in/duZ87Wve   And a link to my report is in the comments.   #CarbonTransitionTool #VoluntaryCarbonMarket #CarbonCredits

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🌳 ⚒ 🏦 When I joined VertueLab a year ago, one of my burning questions was: where are the gaps in our ecosystem? And how can we more impactful delivering on our mission to serve entrepreneurs solving for climate challenges? Unfortunately the data was scarce, and so we got to work. In this, the first of several reports we are producing on our region, we dive into founders and funders challenges with an eye to a #justtransition. Have a look and tell us what you think! Heather Andersen Carol Dahl Joe Connors Allison Arnold Miguel Sossa Kelly Lyons B. Paula S. Brian Bonlender #climatetech #climatecrisis #climatesolutions #CleanTech #GreenTech #ClimateInnovation #TechForGood #UnderrepresentedFounders #InclusiveInnovation #DiversityInTech #BIPOCFounders #FoundersOfColor #BIPOCInnovation #WomenFounders #WomenInTech #FemaleFounders #WomenWhoLead #TechFoundersOfColor #BlackTech #LatinxTech #AsianTech #ClimateTechFounders #GreenEntrepreneurs #EcoInnovators #ClimateTechInnovation #SustainableTech #EcoTech #PNWInnovation #PacificNorthwestTech #PNWTech #SeattleTech

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Forest Trends' Ecosystem Marketplace is thrilled to announce the publication of our flagship report, 2024 State of the Voluntary Carbon Market, which offers insights into key trends and developments related to international voluntary carbon credits: https://lnkd.in/g4K_S33Z

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A fascinating categorization of #CDR in an article exploring the "#CDR #emissions gap" in the latest edition of Nature Climate Change: > Conventional CDR on land: This includes #afforestation, in which trees are planted when previously there were none, and #reforestation, which means restoring areas where the trees have been cut down or degraded. > Novel CDR: This includes all CDR methods that are not based on #forestry and #landuse change, such as #biochar, #directaircapture (#DAC) and #bioenergy with #carboncapture and storage (BECCS). I understand this grouping, but I would argue that categorizing #CDR by Engineered Solution and #NatureBased solution might be more telling. I suspect it allows a more accurate assessment of scalability and #CarbonInvestmentEfficiency (#CIE). https://lnkd.in/gzTdydN3

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Definitions about how food is grown and arguments about the benefits are still missing the point. Forget the labels, it's all about the quality of food that comes out. Does it create symbiosis and make humans and planet healthy or not? To understand food quality goes beyond definitions.

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Who owns the rights to groundwater? the first? the strongest, the biggest, the neediest? and to do what? Agriculture? industry? households 🏡? government agencies? These are impossible choices. Water is vital in all areas of our lives and in the economy. News flash: Big farmers in the fertile Central Valley of California are being asked to measure 📏 their groundwater 💦 consumption, and to pay 💰 for it. From my adopted French perspective, this seems normal. Even if water was once plentiful in some geographies, the effects of climate change on consistent water availability when we need it means regulation and the pricing have a role to play to change behavior and prepare for the future. The past is the past. It's time to manage for the future. Sustainable water management is a critical part of Sustainable Agriculture and turf management. It's more than just doing the right thing. ⚖ 💚 🌳 It's smart risk management. 🌐 💰 💼 Every day AQUA4D® proves that 💧 #precisionirrigation #cleantech #climatetech solutions can help Farmers 🍇🍋🍇🍷🥜🥑 🍑 🥔 🥕 🥒 🌸 🌺 🌷🥀 and Ground-Keepers ⛳⚽🏈 ⛳ reduce annual water consumption by up to 30% 💧📉, AND drive qualitative changes in the soil chemistry that produce higher 📈 yields and better 💚 turf. 30% is no small feat. The tech is here. Let's mitigate risks. At Reborn Global we take the long view, but it requires action now. ‼ Why wait❓ Jacques Muller Thierry Koch Jeff Nunes Javier Meyer (瀚铭) Christine Renier Les Fleurs d'Exception du Pays de Grasse CPPARM CIHEF CRIEPPAM COOPAZUR Cooperative SCA3P Estandon Coopérative en Provence Cluster Provence Rosé Innov'Alliance - Le pôle de compétitivité de la Naturalité Agroalimentaire Nutraceutique Cosmétique Arômes Parfums ChangeNOW GCSAA Association des Directeurs de Golf de France (ADGF) GEGF Fédération française de golf (ffgolf) AGREF United States Golf Association (USGA) UGOLF Resonance Golf Collection Troon

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Less than half of ARR carbon projects restore biodiverse, native ecosystems. Only 25% of ARR (afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation) carbon projects outside of China prioritize native plant species. And of ARR projects that do prioritize native species, fewer than 20% plant 10 native species or more. Meanwhile, 42% of ARR projects around the globe plant exotic species, largely for commercial timber harvest. While there has been a bump since 2016 in ARR projects that prioritize native species, it has largely been driven by 56 projects in China, 3x more than the number of ARR projects in any other country. While ARR projects located in China predominantly rely on native species, they have relatively low species diversity (averaging fewer than 4 native species per project). Just because you're planting trees doesn't mean you're restoring a forest. --- Data and chart from a 2023 study by Social Carbon, which analyzed 212 ARR projects that have issued carbon credits, or been listed, since 2015 on one of the following 6 registries: ACR, CAR, Gold Standard, Plan Vivo, Social Carbon, Verra. 🔗 in comments

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We achieved the world’s FIRST-EVER removal of CO2e (almost 13,000 tonnes!) via remediation of harmful algal blooms in freshwater! With our Net Blue™️ carbon removal technology, our team at BlueGreen Water Technologies not only removed nearly 13,000 tonnes of CO2e, but also restored the health of a freshwater body in Utah, which has suffered chronic outbreaks of toxic algae. Through our partnership with The Utah Department of Environmental Quality we have significantly reduced environmental hazards, while also generating high-quality carbon credits for sale on the voluntary market. I’ve said it once, and I'll continue echoing the sentiment - we need more solutions that are scalable, offer broader societal/environmental value and are commercially viable. In our global journey toward Net Zero and dare I say Net Negative, humanity just took a very positive turn. (Link in comments to read more) #NetZero #NetNegative #CDR #CarbonCredits

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Yesterday the US Federal Government endorsed the voluntary carbon market. What a great moment for the climate!   Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Environmental Defense Fund and Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), the White House has shared a set of integrity principles. Building on existing efforts in the market, such as those of the The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) and VCMI, these principles reaffirm the importance of high-quality carbon credits in meeting our global climate goals.   Such high-level backing is extremely positive. It shows that these solutions are growing more mainstream and are increasingly recognised as viable, scalable solutions to the climate and nature crises. The voluntary carbon market CAN support the sustainable transition the world so desperately needs.   Read Natasha White's coverage in Bloomberg News here: https://lnkd.in/edZM9C3N #VoluntaryCarbonMarket #CarbonCredits

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This is important, and a lot of carbon removal methods face similar dynamics and don't know it yet. For instance, what do we do when pure VCM activity isn't enough to exclusively pay for something like DAC, when DAC receives public subsidy? What happens when other types of carbon removal aren't just producing removed CO2, but also enhancing soil fertility or creating a coproduct they can sell? Faulty versions of financial additionality could protect some players within carbon removal, but I suspect it's going to hold back market scale, similar to what it does in agriculture as Matt Trudeau details here.

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Very excited to share our new #fundinginstrument: the D-SAFE. It's modeled after the standard #SAFE (simple agreement for future equity). The D stands for "Development," and it's meant to address the specific #financing needs of #startups developing their first few pilot plants or commercial facilities. The D-SAFE gives the CEO the option to convert the #equity into a loan once the project is fully funded and underway, a feature that allows the CEO to redeem this capital to the investor – rather than automatically take on further dilution. It also makes it easier to finance new project developments with additional capital partners. The team Elemental Excelerator has been working on this for a while, and I'm excited to see it out in the wild. Our goal is to have the dollars recycle back to us as soon as the projects get larger financing so that we can re-deploy capital for #impact. We've already issued eight of these D-SAFEs to various portfolio companies and are excited for more! You can learn more about what this means in our announcement here: https://lnkd.in/gU74XqQU Huge props to everyone involved! Dawn Lippert Avra van der Zee Danya Hakeem Amir Chireh Mehr Mason Darryl Gunter Aparna Reddy Mike Curtis Lisa Kanehiro #financialinnovation #climatetech

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Benjamin Frankin once said "Common sense is something that everyone needs, few have and none think they lack." Thanks to the key stakeholders and decision makers in the US for bringing a much needed common sense to the carbon markets. We appreciate their insight as we are committed to developing high quality carbon credits to mobilize finance towards climate action. #netzero #vcm #carboncredits #climateaction #gaiaclimate

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The science behind climate change goes back further than you might think, and the efforts to solve for the risks posed by greenhouse gases do too. This week's blog dives into the fascinating history of carbon markets, tracing their evolution from early scientific warnings to the complex systems we see today. Key Takeaways: - Early Warnings: Scientists like Eunice Foote and Svante Arrhenius laid the groundwork for understanding human-caused climate change in the 19th century. - The Keeling Curve: Roger Revelle and Charles David Keeling's work provided irrefutable evidence of CO2 accumulation in the atmosphere, sparking a new urgency for action. - Market Solutions Emerge: Ronald Coase's work on market mechanisms for environmental issues laid the foundation for carbon offsets and trading systems. - From Theory to Practice: The 1988 pioneering offset project by WRI and AES demonstrated the feasibility of carbon offsets. - International Collaboration: The UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol provided a global platform for nations to tackle climate change through carbon markets. Read the full story to see how carbon markets have evolved and the challenges they still face!https://lnkd.in/eenvEhS3 #carbonmarkets #climatechange #climatesolutions #sustainability

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Green Party Manifesto touts carbon tax and ambitious renewable energy targets The Party is the third to launch its manifesto for next month’s general election, after the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives. Labour’s manifesto is expected on Thursday (13 June). Mainstream media coverage has largely focused on the Party’s approach to taxation. A Green government would, for example, implement a 1% wealth tax on individuals with assets exceeding £10m. An enhanced rate of 2% would apply to those with assets exceeding £1bn. National Insurance would also go up for those earning significantly over the national average. The Party claims its changes would impact around 15% of people while benefiting the many. Another key inclusion, perhaps of more interest to those working in the green economy, is the promise of a carbon tax of £120 per tonne, initially to be applied to sectors such as fossil fuels and heavy industry. The tax would be expanded to other sectors over time and gradually increased, over a decade, to £500 per tonne. edie

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We love seeing climate storytelling focused on hope instead of gloom and doom! #climateaction #climatechange

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Great in-depth article highlighting the critical tipping points in the Amazon which will lead to entire regions becoming a Savannah with severe consequences for global climate if deforestation of this vital ecosystem is not halted and reversed. Not alarmist, just science. Halting and reversing deforestation is a global responsibility of our generation we simply cannot escape or ignore. Chen, S., Stark, S.C., Nobre, A.D. et al. Amazon forest biogeography predicts resilience and vulnerability to drought. Nature (2024). https://lnkd.in/dpBMmNTS

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I cannot highlight enough how important this development is. Massive kudos to Google, Meta, Microsoft and Salesforce for demonstrating true leadership. For too long we in the natural climate solutions community have been involved in endless debates over carbon accounting, and have really neglected to discuss what is easily the biggest obstacle to scaling NCS at the urgent pace required by the climate crisis: project finance. Traditional project finance strategies will not work for high quality NCS, because a) they don't allow equitable revenue sharing with local communities; b) these projects take a long time to ramp up and begin issuing credits; and c) if we're rigorously accounting for impact, it's difficult to predict credit flows. The answer to all of these problems is for buyers to venture out of their comfort zones and provide financing directly to projects through AMCs. In so doing they will also benefit by a) securing high quality carbon credits essential to their net zero targets b) getting in on the "ground floor" with projects so they can deeply understand them (essential for good risk management), c) being able to tell their story on carbon management much more authentically and d) signaling the seriousness of their intent to shareholders, employees and stakeholders. AMCs are a win-win-win-win-win. To see these corporates stepping up to own this challenge is great news for carbon markets, for the communities that manage natural resources, for the climate, for biodiversity, for the companies themselves, AND for the planet. Now we need EVERY corporate to understand the value of a similar approach!

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Congratulations to Elemental Excelerator on the release of their report "Traversing the Climate Technology Scale Gap"! This report highlights the need to close the $150 billion scale gap that is making it difficult for new climate technology to be funded, deployed, and scaled. Read this report for insights from experts from different industries on what we can do to unlock funding for climate tech that can advance opportunity. https://lnkd.in/d7f8ZjV8

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