This Week in Carbon

In this episode of This Week in Carbon, host Rene Velasquez dives into the future of carbon markets with Joe Dell'Orfano from Verra and Wes Geisenberger from the HBAR Foundation. They discuss Verra’s groundbreaking shift to a next-generation registry infrastructure with S&P Global Commodity Insights, powered by Hedera’s blockchain technology. This partnership is set to transform the carbon market by replacing static PDFs with machine-readable, transparent, and auditable digital systems.

Key Highlights:

• Verra’s move away from its long-term registry partner APX to a new system focused on digitization and interoperability.

• How Hedera’s blockchain creates an immutable audit trail, streamlining project onboarding, methodology digitization, and long-term monitoring.

• The potential for real-time data insights, from satellite monitoring to financial traceability, to boost market confidence and liquidity.

• Addressing double counting and interoperability with other carbon markets, including compliance systems and Article 6 frameworks.

Topics Discussed:

• The role of Verra’s Project Hub in digitizing methodologies and enabling real-time project tracking.

• How blockchain enhances transparency and trust, benefiting stakeholders like project developers, buyers, and rating agencies.

• The vision for a scalable carbon market with standardized data, supporting everything from voluntary credits to national registries.

• Financial integrity in carbon projects, including tracing funds from forward contracts to community impacts.

Join us to explore how Verra and Hedera are laying the digital rails for a more transparent, efficient, and scalable carbon market.

In this episode of This Week in Carbon, we sit down with Stuart Rowland, CEO of Revalue, to unpack why the voluntary carbon market needs a radical shift in how we think about credit quality.

Stuart shares his journey from physics to climate entrepreneurship and explains why treating all credits as “the same” undermines trust, value, and impact. Instead, he argues for a new mental model: one where credits are judged on rigor, outcomes, and integrity.

You’ll learn about:

- Why carbon credits vary so widely in quality — and why that matters.

- What it will take to build real trust and confidence in outcomes.

- How ecosystem-based credits can scale responsibly without sacrificing integrity.

In this episode of This Week in Carbon, we explore the evolving voluntary carbon market (VCM) with insights from experts in carbon credit ratings, Donna Lee and Duncan van Bergen. The VCM is shifting from heuristic-based to data-driven decisions, with ratings agencies enhancing transparency and integrity. Despite challenges like baseline accuracy, embodied emissions, and a focus on in-setting, the market is maturing through better methodologies, digital tools, and education. By 2030, the VCM should be a robust, digitised climate tool, prioritising impact over perfection.We discuss:• The role of transparent, data-driven ratings in assessing carbon credit quality and impact• The shift from heuristic-based to evidence-based decision-making in the VCM• The growing price premium for high-quality credits and challenges with baseline accuracy in nature-based projects• The importance of balancing corporate emissions reduction with carbon credit purchases• The potential of digitised infrastructure and market maturity to drive climate impact by 2030

New episode with Margaret Morales, Director of Carbon at Trellis Group.

In this episode of This Week in Carbon, we dive into the evolving landscape of carbon markets and climate solutions with our expert guest, Margaret Morales. The discussion explores the shift toward corporate sustainability, the surge in durable carbon removal projects, and the critical role of policy in shaping the future of climate finance. From market dynamics to innovative financing, we unpack the challenges and opportunities ahead.

We discuss:

·      The rise of corporate buyers in the voluntary carbon market

·      Microsoft’s record 7.6M-ton durable removal purchase and its market impact

·      The growing demand for durable vs. nature-based carbon removals

·      Challenges in financing early-stage carbon projects

·      The implications of Article 6 regulations and nature-based solutions

In this episode of This Week in Carbon, we speak with Mike Korchinsky, founder of Wildlife Works and a pioneer of REDD+.

Mike shares the remarkable origin story of Wildlife Works, how it became the first REDD+ project certified under Verra, and what it took to bring market-based conservation to life—long before carbon finance was mainstream. We explore the early conflicts between wildlife and communities in Kenya, the role of the private sector in scaling solutions, and the current state of the carbon market.

We discuss:

- How human-wildlife conflict led to a market-based solution

- The creation of the first REDD+ methodology under Verra

- Why philanthropy and government alone won’t solve deforestation

- Market criticism, reform, and what went wrong with baselines

- The rise of Equitable Earth and what comes next for forest finance

What happens when the most powerful standard-setter in carbon markets tries to reform the system from the inside?

In this episode, we speak with Mandy Rambharos, the new CEO of Verra, at a pivotal moment for the voluntary carbon market. Public trust is low, market rules are under pressure, and project developers are struggling to navigate layers of complexity.

Mandy reflects on what she found when she joined Verra, the hard questions she’s asking internally, and where real change is actually possible.In this episode:

- Why Verra needs to listen more to people on the ground

- What’s broken about the way methodologies are made

- The growing gap between buyers’ expectations and project realities

- Why the system became more about consultants than communities

- What a fairer, simpler, and more effective carbon market could look like

Veteran carbon market analyst Mark Lewis joins This Week in Carbon to break down why the EU ETS is unlike any other market—and why it's entering a long-term bullish phase.

We cover:

- Why the EU ETS has no natural sellers

- How shrinking supply is driving long-term price.

- The coming impact of ETS2 (carbon pricing for households)

- The UK-EU ETS linkage and arbitrage opportunities

- How carbon prices are becoming the new cost of capital for industry

- Why hedge funds and equity analysts are treating EUAs like a macro asset

- The future of Article 6, Corsia, and voluntary market convergence

Can aviation decarbonize faster than the rest of the economy?

In this episode, we sit down with Kennedy Ricci, President of 4AIR, to explore how sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), book & claim systems, and tax incentives are reshaping how we fly—and how we account for emissions.

Kennedy explains how book & claim could be a game-changer for SAF: allowing fuel to be produced and delivered where it's most efficient, while enabling buyers around the world to claim the climate benefit. It's the aviation equivalent of RECs (renewable energy certificates)—and it may be the most scalable path forward.

We also dive into the emerging SAF tax credit landscape, how voluntary markets are pioneering the tools regulators will one day adopt, and why aviation is uniquely positioned to become a proving ground for net zero logistics.

✈️ Topics covered:

• How book & claim works—and why it matters for SAF

• Why business aviation is leading SAF adoption

• The role of voluntary markets in shaping future regulation

• How 4AIR is helping aviation buyers and operators take climate action now

Whether you're in climate tech, policy, or aviation, this episode is packed with insight on how to scale real impact.

In this episode, Thibault Sorret, CEO of ERS (Ecosystem Restoration Standard), joins us just days after some major developments:

🌳 ERS has acquired Equitable Earth, a REDD+ forest conservation standard built by a coalition including Wildlife Works, Forest Trends, and Everland.

✅ The ERS Programme has been officially approved under the ICVCM’s Core Carbon Principles, marking a major milestone in quality and credibility for nature-based carbon.

Thibault reflects on how a recent site visit to a REDD+ project changed his view of conservation — not just as a carbon accounting exercise, but as real, visible frontline climate work. From active ranger patrols to agroforestry programs, he describes what it looks like when these projects truly work — and why scaling them is urgent.

🎙️ In this episode:

• What made Equitable Earth the right fit for ERS

• How to bridge the credibility gap in REDD+

• Why consolidation (not fragmentation) is what carbon markets need

• And how conservation and restoration can — and must — scale together

If you're wondering what high-integrity conservation looks like in practice — and how the carbon market can better support it — this is the conversation.

Carbon markets are evolving fast — but is the demand side keeping up?

In this episode, Magnus Drewelies (Founder & CEO of Ceezer) joins Edward and Rene to unpack key insights from the World Bank’s 2025 State and Trends of Carbon Pricing report and explore what’s really happening in carbon credit markets.

We discuss the rapid rise of carbon removals, especially nature-based solutions — and the shift toward forward purchases and long-term offtakes. But as Magnus explains, this isn’t a supply problem. The real constraint is on the buyer side: price uncertainty, unclear rules, and fragmentation are slowing scale.

Also in this episode:

- The Vietnam ETS and the return of offsets in compliance markets

- What nearly 1 billion unretired credits mean for price confidence

- Institutional capital: what’s blocking it, and how to unlock it

- Why market maturity depends on more than just better MRV