Equinox Maritime Utilizes Marsoft’s GreenScreen in its Ongoing CO2 Reduction Investments
BOYERTOWN, Pennsylvania (July 25, 2023) – In a new collaboration, Equinox Maritime and Marsoft will quantify and certify the CO2 savings from retrofit initiatives made by Equinox in the company’s continuing efforts to minimize its CO2 footprint.
GreenScreen makes a strong business case for installing best practice energy-saving devices. The program helps secure an audited and documented statement of reduced CO2 emissions that delivers incremental revenue and return on investment. The first GreenScreen project has been listed on the Gold Standard website and the first carbon credit issuances will be made before the end of 2023.
“Equinox has long been committed to decarbonization,” says the Director of Equinox Maritime. “At Equinox we are continuously focused on the performance improvement of our fleet and meeting the environmental expectations of our clients. We are therefore extremely excited about this new step forward. We have already jointly reviewed GreenScreen’s confirmation of the carbon savings made from four of our ships and are looking forward to working with Marsoft and ClimeCo to originate the credits, and to our industry’s continued efforts to reduce its CO2 footprint.”
Four of Equinox’s vessels have been screened to confirm the significant fuel-saving benefits from the retrofits installed. Equinox’s technical manager commented, “The project was for four of our Supramaxes – and the GreenScreen analysis verified that the savings from the Schneekluth ducts and spoilers were performing as expected, even a little better. We are very proud of our technical team and yard partners and this important commitment to the environment.”
Dr. Arlie Sterling, President of Marsoft, added, “Despite the many environmental and financial advantages of installing energy-saving devices, the investment can still be difficult for owners to finance. We help owners overcome that financing barrier by addressing some of the risks around the retrofit decision, and by making the business case more attractive. The industry is beginning to see the real value of the carbon markets to accelerate the pace of decarbonization today,”
Marsoft’s GreenScreen program complements Equinox’s longstanding environmental commitment by accurately assessing the emission reductions from the retrofits – a requirement to enroll the ships in a Gold Standard program. Marsoft’s collaboration with ClimeCo, a leader in the carbon markets, secures premium pricing for Equinox’s carbon credits in the voluntary carbon markets.
About Marsoft
Established in 1984, Marsoft provides expert, objective, and timely support for investment, chartering, and financing decisions. Marsoft’s quantitative models and expert judgment have improved the quality of decision-making for almost four decades. Marsoft decision support systems integrate data and analysis to enrich our client’s decision-making process, including the integration of climate-focused initiatives such as the Poseidon Principles.
The analytical platform underpinning Marsoft’s GreenScreen services was developed in collaboration with the MIT SeaGrant Design Laboratory.
Marsoft is committed to working with the shipping industry to minimize CO2 emissions and support the UN Sustainable Development Goals while meeting all stakeholder requirements. Marsoft is a founding member of the Blue Sky Maritime Coalition, whose mission is to accelerate the decarbonization of North American waterborne trade.
ClimeCo is a global company focused on offering a full range of sustainability advisory with a balance of industrial and nature-based carbon solutions that meet the diverse needs of clients’ climate programs. We also provide specialized technical solutions for hard-to-decarbonize industries. From developing methodologies to support GHG reduction innovation to advising on solutions for optimal sustainability impact to reach Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals, ClimeCo is the right partner to help address environmental challenges.
For more information or to discuss how ClimeCo can drive value for your organization, contact us through our website climeco.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter using our handle, @ClimeCo.
Johnson Matthey and ClimeCo Collaborate to Accelerate The Deployment of Low Carbon Solutions
NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION CONTACT Nancy Marshall, Vice President, Marketing 484.415.7603 or nmarshall@climeco.com
Johnson Matthey and ClimeCo Collaborate to Accelerate The Deployment of Low Carbon Solutions
Boyertown, Pennsylvania (July 25, 2022) – Johnson Matthey (JM), a leader in sustainable technologies, is collaborating with ClimeCo, a global climate solutions company, to accelerate the deployment of enhanced carbon capture solutions for industry. Under an MoU, the two companies will help synthesis gas (syngas) producers, initially in hydrogen and methanol, to build the business case for reducing CO2 emissions from existing processes by up to 95%.
Combining JM’s unique skills in technology development and deployment with ClimeCo’s expertise in ESG strategy and regulatory analysis, will enable syngas producers to make immediate progress on complex carbon issues by supporting project economics development, de-risking the business case for decarbonisation projects, and providing a mechanism to create validated CO2 emissions reductions and creating compliance credits in many government-backed carbon markets. Together, they will empower customers to make informed decisions on allocating capital for the deployment of JM’s CLEANPACE™ solutions, accelerate emissions reductions, and future-proof their plants against the rising costs of carbon.
Syngas producers are responsible for approximately 70% of CO2 emissions in the chemicals sector. The opportunity for JM’s Low Carbon Solutions to deploy existing technology to over 150 grey hydrogen plants in Europe and North America alone could reduce CO2 emissions by over 100 million tons per year by 2030. This is equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from approximately 40 million cars. This is an addressable market of £1-2 billion and Low Carbon Solutions is a key growth driver for JM.
“Companies around the world are under pressure to reduce carbon emissions and meet net zero targets,” says Jane Toogood, Catalyst Technologies Chief Executive at JM. “Creating strategic partnerships allows us to offer our customers rounded and complete solutions. By working with ClimeCo, we will enable industries such as chemicals and refining, which rely on syngas, to quickly understand the regulatory frameworks, accelerate capital decisions for decarbonisation programmes and easily deploy proven technology solutions that can have an impact today, to create a cleaner world.”
“In order to decarbonise, industry is faced with a complex set of regulatory and financial hurdles,” says Bill Flederbach, ClimeCo’s CEO and President. “This alliance, leveraging ClimeCo’s expertise in regulatory analysis along with advocacy and leadership in environmental credit creation and transactions, supports stakeholders across “hard to abate” industrial sectors by identifying technically and economically viable decarbonisation pathways, helping them go beyond conceptual studies to deploy technology solutions that make a difference today.”
About ClimeCo
ClimeCo is a respected global advisor, transaction facilitator, trader, and developer of environmental commodity market products and related solutions. We specialize in voluntary carbon, regulated carbon, renewable energy credits, plastics credits, and regional criteria pollutant trading programs. Complimenting these programs is a team of professionals skilled in providing sustainability program management solutions and developing and financing of GHG abatement and mitigation systems.
For more information or to discuss how ClimeCo can drive value for your organization, contact us at 484.415.0501, info@climeco.com, or through our website climeco.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter using our handle, @ClimeCo.
About Johnson Matthey
Johnson Matthey is a global leader in sustainable technologies that enable a cleaner and healthier world. With over 200 years of sustained commitment to innovation and technological breakthroughs, we improve the performance, function and safety of our customers’ products. Our science has a global impact in areas such as low emission transport, energy, chemical processing and making the most efficient use of the planet’s natural resources. Today about 15,000 Johnson Matthey professionals collaborate with our network of customers and partners to make a real difference to the world around us. For more information, visit www.matthey.com.
For more information email jmpr@matthey.com or call +44 207 269 8001.
Marsoft and ClimeCo Collaborate to Accelerate Decarbonization in Shipping
NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION CONTACT Nancy Marshall, Vice President, Marketing +1 484.415.7603 or nmarshall@climeco.com
Marsoft and ClimeCo Collaborate to Accelerate Decarbonization in Shipping
Boston, Massachusetts (July 14, 2022) – Marsoft Inc., the leading maritime consultancy, and ClimeCo LLC, a leader in the carbon credits market, announce a collaboration to expand the range and value of Marsoft’s GreenScreen carbon credit services (GreenScreen), removing financial barriers to the shipping industry’s commitment to achieve material CO2 emissions reductions.
Marsoft’s GreenScreen services enables Shipowners to issue Gold Standard carbon credits based on the CO2 emissions reduction they create by retrofitting their ships. Sold, these credits help overcome the hurdles that now limit investments in retrofits, reducing risks and increasing the profitability from the reduction in CO2 attributable to the retrofits.
“Carbon credits can be an important source of funding for retrofits that reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Gold Standard certification of those reductions gives owners access to the rapidly expanding voluntary carbon market. By collaborating to simplify, accelerate, and cut costs from the carbon credit verification, issuance, and monetization process Marsoft and ClimeCo will make carbon credits part of the industry-wide solution to the challenge of decarbonization,” said Arlie Sterling, President at Marsoft Inc.
Bill Flederbach, CEO and President of ClimeCo, highlighted the value of this newly formed team: “We will deliver substantial cost and time savings while enhancing value to those customers who take advantage of GreenScreen. ClimeCo is putting its 17 years of experience and unmatched carbon trading scale and expertise behind shipowners and their determination to decarbonize their business. ClimeCo’s deep carbon market expertise and relationships will maximize the value of their carbon credits.”
Erika Schiller, VP of Project Development at ClimeCo, emphasized the powerful benefits from the collaboration. “Leading shipowners have already signed up for GreenScreen and have already budgeted a million-tonne reduction in CO2 emissions over the next five years. The Marsoft/ClimeCo team will establish a high value/high liquidity presence in the carbon markets for credits from shipping. GreenScreen is proven and unique, and we are committed to making it even better by teaming with Marsoft.”
With Marsoft’s shipping knowledge and GreenScreen breakthrough technology, and ClimeCo’s carbon solution development and market reach, the shipping business will finally have the solution it needs to reduce emissions today. Together, Marsoft and ClimeCo provide a path by which ship owners can act now to reduce their CO2 emissions at minimum cost and maximum revenue potential.
Marsoft and ClimeCo have committed to offering an effective and efficient industry-level solution to the CO2 emissions reduction verification, credits issuance, and monetization challenges. The combination of ClimeCo’s environmental solutions track record and Marsoft’s breakthrough management tools for the shipping industry ensures that the shipping industry can benefit from the state-of-the-art and critical mass. Marsoft and ClimeCo have invested substantial resources and are willing to invest alongside the shipowner to reduce CO2 emissions.
About ClimeCo
ClimeCo is a respected global advisor, transaction facilitator, trader, and developer of environmental commodity market products and related solutions. We specialize in voluntary carbon, regulated carbon, renewable energy credits, plastics credits, and regional criteria pollutant trading programs. Complimenting these programs is a team of professionals skilled in providing sustainability program management solutions and developing and financing of GHG abatement and mitigation systems.
For more information or to discuss how ClimeCo can drive value for your organization, contact us at +1 484.415.0501, info@climeco.com, or through our website climeco.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter using our handle, @ClimeCo.
About Marsoft Inc.
Established in 1984, Marsoft provides expert, objective, and timely support for investment, chartering, and financing decisions. Marsoft’s quantitative models and expert judgment have improved the quality of decision-making for almost four decades. Marsoft decision support systems integrate data and analysis to enrich our client’s decision-making process, including the integration of climate-focused initiatives such as the Poseidon Principles. The analytical platform underpinning Marsoft’s GreenScreen services was developed in collaboration with the MIT SeaGrant Design Laboratory. Marsoft is committed to working with the shipping industry to minimize CO2 emissions and support the UN Sustainable Development Goals while meeting all stakeholder requirements. Marsoft is a founding member of the Blue Sky Maritime Coalition, whose mission is to accelerate the decarbonization of North American waterborne trade.
Reforestation is emerging as a desirable and effective tool for carbon emission removals and has receivedincreased attention from investors in the last several years. Investments in reforestation enable vital carbon removal from the atmosphere and offer innumerable ancillary environmental and social benefits, from creating critical habitats for biodiversity to improving water quality, groundwater recharge, and flood prevention for local communities. Despite the demand for the carbon removals and ancillary benefits that reforestation projects provide, the most challenging obstacle for reforestation-based carbon offset projects begins before a shovel ever touches the ground.
For nearly all reforestation carbon offset projects, the majority of costs, such as securing easements (to ensure long-term permanence) and planting activities, occur at the beginning of a project. In contrast, most carbon sequestration benefits from reforestation activities, and therefore the associated revenue from carbon offsets, accrues slowly over a long-time horizon. This delay between when costs occur and when revenue is realized has historically made reforestation challenging to finance and has hindered projects from getting off the ground; project developers cannot implement a reforestation project without a sizable initial investment, and investors looking to secure carbon credits can find it challenging to justify such an investment without assurances that expected carbon benefits from the investment would be delivered over an extended timeline.
Although financing challenges have hindered reforestation efforts for decades, several well-known carbon offset registries, such as the Climate Action Reserve and Verra, are developing new programs and instruments that aim to address those early finance hurdles and enable more project developers, like ClimeCo, to bring reforestation projects to market.
CAR’s Climate Forward Program
One approach currently offered is the Climate Action Reserve (CAR) Climate Forward program that seeks to drive forward-looking investments, such as reforestation, by allowing projects to generate ex ante credits called Forecasted Mitigation Units (FMUs) that can be utilized to help finance the high upfront cost of getting a project launched. As opposed to traditional carbon credits generated ex post or after emission reductions occur and can be used to offset existing sources of emissions, FMUs are an environmental instrument that are issued based on forecasted emission reductions and/or removals and are intended to offset a future stream of emissions from new economic activity (i.e., a new construction project or development). Reforestation projects under the Climate Forward program must meet stringent eligibility requirements to ensure that the carbon sequestration benefits are additional and minimize and account for the risk of natural or intentional “reversals,” a situation where the stored carbon associated with a project is released back to the atmosphere.
In late April this year, CAR released Version 2 of the Climate Forward Reforestation Methodology, with additional assurances that bolster the environmental integrity of FMUs generated from reforestation projects in the Climate Forward program. One of the most noteworthy additions to the Reforestation Methodology is the inclusion of a permanence risk buffer pool to account for unintentional reversals outside a project’s control, such as fire, insects, and disease. To account for these unavoidable reversals, the newly updated Reforestation Methodology will require every reforestation project in the Climate Forward program to contribute a certain percentage of FMUs into a “permanence risk pool,” which will be collected and held as insurance. If an unintentional reversal occurs, CAR will retire the corresponding amount of FMUs from the permanence risk pool to compensate for the negative impact of the reversal. These updated assurances to the Reforestation Methodology will help give buyers confidence that their FMUs represent carbon that is stored for the long term.
Verra’s Projected Carbon Unit
Carbon registry Verra is currently creating a solution for addressing this financing problem with a new commodity called a “Projected Carbon Unit” or “PCU.” PCUs are intended to help provide a source of upfront revenue to support the development of projects on Verra’s registry before the verification and issuance of Verra’s standard carbon offset or Verified Carbon Units (VCU).
Unlike the FMUs generated in the Climate Action Reserve program, PCUs are not ex ante but are an instrument that reflects the validated projection of expected emission reductions or removals and cannot be used for offsetting claims until the associated emission reductions or removals are successfully verified (i.e., after the reduction has occurred). Upon successful verification, the PCU’s will automatically be converted to ex post VCUs. PCUs are intended to be generated using Verra’s existing methodologies which theoretically could provide early finance for a multitude of nature-based solutions and other carbon offsetting project types. Verra has completed two rounds of public consultation and intends to operationalize and launch PCUs in September 2022.
Conclusion
The recent addition of the permanence risk buffer pool to the Climate Forward program and Verra’s development of PCUs are part of a larger trend of creative solutions being designed to help reforestation efforts meet the growing demand for nature-based solutions. I am excited to see these efforts by CAR and Verra and look forward to seeing even more future innovative solutions that willsupport these types of opportunities. The more we can reduce the hurdles of nature-based projects, the more our planet benefits.
About the Author
David Chenis passionate about nature-based and blue carbon project development. From replanting bald cypress trees in the Mississippi River delta to reestablishing mangroves forests in international countries, David knows the positive impact these projects have on biodiversity and coastal resiliency to improving local livelihoods. David is a Program Development Manager at ClimeCo and has a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and received his Bachelor of Science from the University of California, Riverside.
Why Should You Know About North American Carbon World?
Along with several ClimeCo colleagues, I had the pleasure of attending the nineteenth annual North American Carbon World (NACW) conference held April 6-9th in Anaheim, California. As we have in the past, ClimeCo was one of the event’s corporate sponsors. While the 2021 virtual NACW conference offered a unique opportunity for attendees to learn and participate, we were excited to be in person again. NACW provides a fantastic opportunity for participants in the carbon markets to experience great panels of speakers and catch up with old friends and make some new ones.
For those unfamiliar with NACW, it is a premier event in North America focused on climate policy and carbon markets. This year’s conference included over 720 attendees, representing 14 countries. The conference attracts stakeholders from various backgrounds and industries, including project developers, verification bodies, non-profits, international carbon registries, government, community members, academia, carbon finance, technology startups, and Fortune 500 companies. The conference attendees share a common goal of addressing the climate crisis through innovative solutions.
It was an incredible couple of days spent meeting with stakeholders in the carbon markets. Truly one of the most rewarding aspects of the conference was getting to know what drives these stakeholders and their interest in various aspects of the market. The wide range of topics, including natural climate solutions, digital assets, and policy outlooks, brought together a diverse group of experts. Reflecting on the conference, I have a few key takeaways:
Supporting Voluntary Carbon Market Growth
The voluntary carbon market continues to grow significantly, and much of the growth is driven by corporate sustainability goals. How the voluntary market responds to the demands from corporate buyers will be of critical importance to sustain its momentum. While country-level commitments made through the Paris Agreement, for example, play a vital role, the voluntary market provides a tremendous opportunity to utilize the financial power of the private sector to address the climate crisis at the urgent pace required.
As highlighted in the panel discussion, “State and Future of the North American Voluntary Carbon Market,” whom ClimeCo’s Director of Program Management, Lauren Mechak participated, the voluntary market is well designed to support innovation to capitalize on the financial power of the private sector. Many innovations are being developed that require carbon finance to be commercially viable. For example, unique project types and emerging technologies in remote sensing and blockchain technology are being explored for implementation in carbon projects and the carbon market. The flexibility of the voluntary market is built to support these innovations, but it is vitally important that it’s done correctly by adhering to the principles and standards required for high-quality offsets.
Projects Must Deliver Quality, Transparency, and Accountability
A key aspect of supporting the market growth is the demand from credit buyers and the public for a transparent and high-quality process. Investors demand projects that ensure real and permanent greenhouse gas emission reductions. Transparency in how carbon offset methodologies are created, projects are developed, and credits are verified is vitally important to ensuring the continued growth of the voluntary market.
One of my favorite panel discussions focused on Driving High-Quality Standards in Carbon Markets. This panel highlighted initiatives in the carbon market focused on bringing increased transparency into project activities. Efforts to develop tools that assist market participants with evaluating what a “good” offset project looks like are underway, such as the Carbon Credit Quality Initiative. These initiatives aim to enhance the integrity of carbon credits by providing independent and easily understood scoring of carbon credits.
Corporate buyers also provided their perspectives regarding the challenges they face in evaluating carbon offset projects. Many simply do not have the expertise to adequately review lengthy project description documents and understand the underlying assumptions of the project and the methodology upon which the project was established. The level of detail provided in the publicly available documentation can be challenging for buyers and much of the general population to understand on their own. Some individual companies can bring expertise in-house to evaluate the quality of an offset credit. However, experts within the carbon market have an opportunity to provide simplified guidance on what a “good” carbon credit looks like. Initiatives that create tools and simplify access to information make it easier to understand what’s behind a given project, which provides the confidence for projects they are supporting – delivering real and permanent climate impacts.
As a project developer, ClimeCo always strives to provide as much transparency as possible. We participate in widely trusted and recognized carbon registries, such as the Climate Action Reserve, Verra, Gold Standard, and the American Carbon Registry. Carbon registries play an essential role in addressing transparency and quality. The voluntary market relies heavily on registries and verifiers to demonstrate the validity of an offset. These registries provide the public opportunities to comment on our projects and review summary information about their design and performance. I believe the discussions regarding simplifying publicly available information will lead to an even more transparent and trusted process. Our projects must also undergo independent verification before issuing carbon offset credits. The independence of verification bodies and carbon registries is vital for ensuring the quality of carbon offset projects and maintaining the integrity of the growing carbon market.
Co-Benefits of Carbon Projects
My final takeaway from the conference is that the projects being developed worldwide provide value beyond their carbon impact. It’s sometimes easy to be consumed by the impact a particular project will have on the climate; however, there are many co-benefits to carbon projects which improve the lives of the community members in which they are situated.
The inspiring story of the Yurok Tribe highlighted the co-benefits of these projects. Panelist Javier Kinney of the Yurok Tribe described the important impacts that offset revenues provided to their local communities. The tribe has been able to finance the repurchase of ancestral territory by utilizing carbon revenues. They have also used revenues from carbon sequestration projects to support the reintroduction of two condors (North America’s largest terrestrial bird) back into their ancestral lands. The condor is a sacred species to the Yurok Tribe, and this was the first time the birds will have taken flight in their former range since 18921. Their incredible story demonstrates the power carbon projects have to change the environment and support community building.
Conclusion
Being in a room with over 700 people interested in carbon markets and how they can shape the future of the climate crisis was inspirational. Participants from all across the world and from diverse industry backgrounds highlighted the increasing interest in the market. As highlighted at the conference, with increased interest comes increased scrutiny.
NACW was a great reminder of the importance of the fundamentals of project development in the carbon market. To ensure market integrity, we must remain vigilant regarding the types of projects we engage in. Demonstration of additionality, leakage considerations, and carbon storage permanence are always key factors in our decision to develop a project. The conference also highlighted aspects such as co-benefits that project developers should be searching for and creating through their project implementation.
As our project portfolio expands, ClimeCo’s project development team continues to implement processes to ensure high quality and transparency. This includes registering projects with highly trusted carbon registries, engaging with broad stakeholder groups, developing publicly available project description documents, and verifications through independent auditing bodies. These fundamentals were always the core of our project development, and the conference confirmed their importance to market integrity.
Our projects have the potential to improve the communities and ecosystems of so many places around the world. ClimeCo’s Project Development Team is committed to developing high-quality carbon projects. Our core value of strong engagement with our project partners, local stakeholders, carbon registries, and credit buyers elevates the quality and transparency in which our projects operate. We’re looking forward to participating in the growth to come and supporting initiatives that maintain the integrity of the markets.
About the Author
Greg Cesare is the Director of Project Management within ClimeCo’s Project Development Team. He is located in State College, PA. Greg and the Project Management team provide implementation and long-term management of ClimeCo’s portfolio of environmental commodity projects.
