Concept: Nasdaq has launched new commodity reference price indexes based on Puro.earth’s CO2 Removal Certificates (CORCs). The indices are said to be the world’s first to track the cost of removing carbon dioxide from the environment.
Nature of Disruption: A CORC is a digital asset that symbolizes a ton of CO2 eliminated from the atmosphere and can be traded. The CORC indices can aid in revealing the true cost of carbon removal. The following indices are part of Nasdaq’s CORC Carbon Removal Reference Price Index family: CORC Carbon Removal Price Index (CORCX) is a CORC transaction aggregation that quantifies the cost of sequestering one tonne of CO2 based on all sorts of engineered carbon removal methods listed in the Puro.earth’s Standard. The CORC Biochar Price Index (CORCCHAR) measures the cost of sequestering one ton of CO2 as biochar. The third CORC Bio-based Construction Materials Price Index (CORCWOOD), measures the cost of sequestering one ton of CO2 using bio-based construction materials. The indices could serve as a price benchmark for the businesses, allowing them to better understand the true cost of carbon neutralization. It could also boost the business case for new carbon removal projects, allowing potential investors to make more informed decisions and accelerating the growth of carbon removal ecosystems.
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Outlook: To achieve net-zero emissions, a corporation must offset its remaining GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions with an equal amount of carbon removals. Nasdaq intends to establish the transparency needed to stimulate investment and support project finance decisions by providing access to carbon removal reference pricing. Carbon removal credits that are aligned with the guidelines offered by these initiatives are tracked by the CORC Carbon Removal Price Index family. The CORC Carbon Removal Reference Price Index family includes a composite index that measures the price of all forms of CORC transactions, as well as biochar and bio-based construction materials reference price indexes. Nasdaq plans to add more indexes to the family as the number of CORC transactions based on other carbon removal methods increases.
This article was originally published in Verdict.co.uk
