Green knights? Banks step into struggling carbon credit markets
Clearer global standards and a new exchange may attract dealer entry, but supply and demand challenges remain

The fledgling market for carbon emissions offsets is dreaming big – of a world in which global financial institutions champion funding for communities on the front lines of the climate crisis and help companies elsewhere clean up their hard-to-reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Yet, as others in the financial industry prepared to realise the market’s ambitions for exponential growth, banks have mostly stayed away – leaving financing for credit-producing projects and trading of carbon credits to
More on Carbon
Emissions house of the year: Grey Epoch
Energy Risk Awards 2025: Carbon trader meets clients’ increasing needs through deep expertise and ability to warehouse risk
Environmental products house of the year: Marex
Energy Risk Awards 2025: Marex Environmental spans firm to give all clients access to green markets
Market-maker/liquidity provider of the year: OTC Flow
Energy Risk Awards 2025: Environmental trader and broker furthers liquidity provision with new presence on exchange
Commodity trade finance house of the year: Tramontana
Energy Risk Awards 2025: Investment firm creates unique carbon trade finance vehicles enabling long-term hedging while developing carbon market liquidity
Voluntary carbon markets house of the year: SCB Environmental Markets
Energy Risk Awards 2025: Environmental specialist amplifies its commitment to the VCM
Achieving net zero with carbon offsets: best practices and what to avoid
A survey by Risk.net and ION Commodities found that firms are wary of using carbon offsets in their net-zero strategies. While this is understandable, given the reputational risk of many offset projects, it is likely to be extremely difficult and more…
Achieving net zero with carbon offsets: best practices and what to avoid
The race to net zero is on, with tens of thousands of firms now signed up to carbon reduction targets. The use of carbon offsets from voluntary and compliance markets will play a key role in helping firms reach their net-zero and decarbonisation goals…
SCB’s CEO talks biofuels, food security and the growth of voluntary carbon markets
Kevin McGeeny, founder and chief executive of SCB Group, talks with Energy Risk about his firm’s performance in this year’s Commodity Rankings and the developments he’s keeping an eye on in the biofuels and carbon markets.