The London Stock Exchange, part of LSEG, has announced the launch of the first voluntary carbon market (VCM) by a primary exchange with the publication of final admission and disclosure rules. On the new market, closed ended investment funds and operating companies will be able to raise capital via an IPO, with the capital raised being invested into climate mitigation projects, with the expectation of generating carbon credits, and climate-aligned assets. The exchange said its VCM is designed to support corporates which seek to offset “their residual or unavoidable emissions on their net-zero journey and provide exposure for investors to an asset class, with a long-term supply of carbon credits”. “Our goal is to facilitate the financing of projects that are focused on climate change mitigation,” said CEO Julia Hoggett. She said the market “paves the way for capital at scale to be channelled into a range of climate change mitigation projects, while providing corporates and other investors with net zero commitments with the ability to access a diverse supply of high-quality carbon credits”.
