Insight Conversation: Andrew Glass Insight Conversation: Andrew Glass Global carbon market data and technology firm Viridios AI’s Head of Partnerships Andrew Glass speaks with S&P Global Commodity Insights Editorial Director Henry Edwardes-Evans on the prospects for rebuilding trust and trade volumes in the voluntary markets A s Viridios AI’s Head of Partnerships, Andrew Glass was instrumental in setting up the Platts-Viridios CARBEX Carbon Credit Indices, reflecting the value of voluntary carbon credits ranging from soil, deforestation avoidance and reforestation projects to “blue carbon” projects focused on the preservation of coastal and marine ecosystems. Glass has 25 years of experience in commodity trading, founding Avatar Commodities in 2017, designing and building commodity risk diagnostic tools. Viridios AI’s mission is to bring a robust valuation methodology to carbon projects and help companies future-proof their carbon offset strategies. Scrutiny on quality and integrity across many sectors of the voluntary carbon markets, while welcome, was relentless and often overly pessimistic, eroding the critical foundation of trust and confidence. Rebuilding trust is critical in 2024 and beyond. This is being addressed with numerous initiatives from central bodies such as the Integrity Council for Voluntary Carbon Markets (ICVCM) , Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity (VCMI) and others. On the same theme, a focus on regulation and compliance market fungibility is high on the agenda. Even though COP28 failed to reach agreement on Article 6 negotiations, we expect to see exponential bilateral agreements embracing Article 6 compliance, enhancing confidence. We’re already seeing evidence of this with the first government-backed ITMOs, or internationally transferable mitigation outcomes, transacting in December under Article 6.2. Additionally, we expect to see the discussion around removals versus avoidance recognize it’s an “and” not an “or” debate. We need both to continue evolving, generating credits and benefits in unison to have the highest chance of succeeding. Related to this, attention and value attributed to projects’ co-benefits are rising, especially What is the outlook for voluntary carbon credits this year? Anchoring on 2023 as a baseline, we have significant head room for a brighter outlook. 30 Commodity Insights February 2024
Commodity Insights Forces shaping the future of energy | Commodity Insights Magazine | February 2024: Page 30
