Climate Finance is Booming: Climate Commitment From Four Banks Reaches $5.5 Trillion, and More.

2023 is off to a strong start in the world of Nature Based Finance and the scaling of carbon credit markets.

The Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) has grown from a valuation of $500 million USD in 2019 to approximately $2 billion USD in 2022. Leading carbon market research firm Sylvera projects VCMs to reach up to $40 billion USD by 2030 as new technologies and systems emerge to iron out issues that have been plaguing this once antiquated market.

DeepMarkit Corp’s (TSX-V: MKT, OTCQB: MKTDF) proprietary carbon-offset minting platform, MintCarbon.io, was developed to help the transition of global Voluntary Carbon Markets from their historically opaque trading framework to the blockchain, where transparency, security and liquidity are not only superior, but necessary to ensure scaling, growth and innovation in climate finance.

Let’s get into last week’s key headlines:

Climate Commitment from Four Major Banks Reach $5.5 Trillion

“Two major UK banks, Barclays and HSBC, pledged a total of US$2 trillion, with $1 trillion each, by 2030. While another two large US banks, JPMorgan Chase ($2.5 trillion) and Citigroup ($1 trillion), have committed a total of $3.5 trillion last year to sustainable initiatives by the same decade.”

“Europe’s largest bank HSBC updated its climate policy saying it will no longer offer new lending or capital market financing for new oil and gas fields or related projects.

The banking giant has also said it plans to provide up to $1 trillion in sustainable financing and investments by 2030.”

FTSE 350 firms up spending on ‘carbon offsets’ in race to net zero

CityAM, London’s most-read financial and business newspaper, reported on January 8th that “The vast majority (96 per cent) of Britain’s FTSE 350 companies have already upped expenditure on carbon credits over the past 24 months, while almost half (47 per cent) intend to increase spending dramatically over the next two years, according to research from carbon market startup Kana Earth.

A further 42 per cent of FTSE 350 firms are planning to further increase spending on carbon offsets and carbon credits slightly over the next 24 months, while just 11 per cent expect to keep expenditure the same.”

Chubb Announces Global Climate Business Unit to Help Combat and Manage Climate Change

In a move that will lend further reassurance to the climate finance sector, the world’s largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company, Chubb, has entered the climate arena, stating "After many months of thoughtful deliberation, today we are announcing an expanded commitment to support the transition toward net zero in response to rising climate challenges," said Evan G. Greenberg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "In the coming months, expect to see additional capabilities from Chubb to support our customers across all industries as they seek to become more carbon neutral and resilient from the threat of a changing climate."

Prospects have never looked brighter in the world of climate finance. Growth in demand for Voluntary Carbon Credits is set to soar, as the sector continues to be bolstered by new commitments from banks, governments, conglomerates and blue chip entities from around the world.

DeepMarkit is well positioned to leverage the transition of VCMs onto the blockchain, enabling further growth while allowing for the transfer of capital to where it is most needed.

Until next time, keep well.

Ranjeet Sundher
CEO, DeepMarkit Corp.