July' 25

This month's updates

• East Africa: a carbon credit powerhouse
• BeZero’s first J-REDD+ rating
• Fastmarkets: how ratings move credit prices
• Explainer: carbon insetting
• What we’re reading
• Upcoming events

East Africa: a carbon credit powerhouse

East Africa’s carbon markets are gaining global attention. 

🌱 Accounting for 10% of global credit issuance in recent years - the highest in the world relative to its GDP - the region is set to deliver huge benefits, including a USD 1bn export opportunity in the 2030s, and over 1.7 million jobs in carbon.

🌍 In June, 200+ people working in carbon gathered at BeZero’s first hosted event in Nairobi. With speakers from The Climate Network , Cloverly , Verra , FSD Africa , BURN Manufacturing, and the Office of Kenya's Special Envoy for Climate Change , we had the privilege of listening and learning from one of the most dynamic carbon hubs in the world.

📈 The key takeaway? Integrity isn't a buzzword, it's a price signal. From what drives credit pricing, to how digital tools and national policy are reshaping benefit-sharing, the conversations confirmed that Kenya is poised to lead the next chapter of carbon markets.

▶️ Watch our video below to see us on the ground, meeting with DAC developers Sirona Technologies and Octavia Carbon , and CO2 mineralisation and sequestration specialist Cella , and learn why Kenya’s Rift Valley is uniquely adapted to both driving carbon removal at scale, and building a thriving energy economy.

Learn more about East Africa’s role in global carbon markets in our recent report.

BeZero's first J-REDD+ rating

🌳 BeZero recently assigned its first public Jurisdictional REDD+ rating to credits issued by the ART102 programme of activities in Guyana. J-REDD+ is a government-led approach to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, implemented at the national or subnational level. 

✈️ ART102 credits were developed under the Article 6.2 framework and are currently the only credits fully authorised for use towards the first phase of CORSIA, the international aviation decarbonisation scheme.

🔠 Our rating highlights the need for independent assessments to manage both carbon and beyond carbon risk in emerging compliance markets.

Learn more

Fastmarkets: how ratings move credit prices

Why do ratings matter? They drive carbon credit prices, and align outcomes to positive climate impact.

📈 To shed a light on this link between price and quality, Fastmarkets , a leading cross-commodity price reporting agency, launched 12 carbon price assessments in forestry sub-sectors, combining BeZero’s independent carbon ratings with project-specific insight.

🔁  Demystifying the premium pricing for impactful projects creates a virtuous cycle with buyers willing to pay more for high-quality credits, and project developers incentivised to build better projects. Unpack the data in Fastmarkets’ latest Carbon Report.

Read the report

Case study: How A Healthier Earth demonstrated quality with a pre-issuance biochar rating

⚫ Biochar credit price volatility made it difficult for A Healthier Earth to validate and defend their target credit price, and secure investment and offtake. By evidencing their project’s quality through a pre-issuance rating, they gained independent validation to support buyer engagement and market positioning. The rating also helped them identify areas for improvement to guide future project planning and scaling. Learn more.

Explainer: carbon insetting

🌱 Carbon insetting focuses on tackling emissions within a business's own value chain, whereas offsetting compensates for emissions by funding projects that reduce emissions elsewhere. Examples include supporting regenerative agricultural practices at source farms, and working directly with suppliers to reduce their carbon footprint.

🔠 Whether insets or offsets, climate outcomes may vary. Independent carbon ratings and risk assessments play an essential role in helping businesses understand the true impact of a given project. Read our explainer to dig into the differences.

What we're reading

• Why the EU’s 2040 climate target could reshape global carbon markets
• REDD+ projects show broad price-ratings correlation, but project-specific factors remain
• Carbon Markets Reimagined: Scale, Resiliency, and Transparency through Digital Assets
• Open letter to the UK Government regarding its consultation ‘Voluntary carbon and nature markets: Raising integrity’ 
• UK To Integrate Carbon Removals Into ETS (→ read our analysis)
• For hope on climate change, follow the money, UN chief tells AP

Upcoming events

• IETA’s Latin America Climate Summit in São Paulo is coming up, with over 800 professionals in carbon set to attend. Between 26th and 28th August, project developers, sustainability leaders, policy makers and government will discuss the importance of carbon pricing instruments for raising climate ambition, and driving fair transition in the region. BeZero’s Dr Fernanda Coelho de Souza will be speaking at the event alongside panelists from Shell and Santander , with Tiffany Lopes also in attendance - reach out if you'd like to connect.

• Want to learn how to score quality for yet-to-be rated ARR projects? Join our webinar on 28th August to hear from Tomi Turner, PhD , Lead Carbon Ratings Scientist and ARR Lead, and Riley Wagner , Senior Data Product Manager. They’ll use real project examples to highlight what drives risk in this sub-sector, how project inputs might impact rating outcomes, and how project design can be optimised for higher climate impact. Whether you’re developing projects, screening investment opportunities, or buying credits, our interactive due diligence tools are essential to inform decision making, and transact with confidence. The webinar will run at 09:30 BST / 16:30 SGT for attendees in EMEA & APAC, and at 08:30 PT / 11:30 EDT for the Americas. 

In case you missed it

• Webinar replay: De-risking early-stage carbon projects, a conversation about identifying and mitigating risk in pre-issuance projects, featuring speakers from carbon investor and adviser Artemeter , and project developer re.green .
• Webinar replay: Navigating legal uncertainty in carbon markets, a discussion on the evolving legal landscape for investors, developers and policy professionals, with speakers from Herzog Law, UBS , and EcoSecurities .

Thank you for reading!

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