SmarterMarkets™ Weathering Decarbonization Episode 4 | Peter Fusaro, Founder, Wall Street Green Summit
Feb 28, 2026
Peter Fusaro, founder of the Wall Street Green Summit and long-time climate finance advocate. He reflects on 25 years of the summit and its shift from carbon trading to broad sustainability. Conversations cover rising private investor interest, AI and carbon credit trends, compliance versus voluntary markets, tech firms’ energy choices, OceanTech and robotics, and where climate capital is flowing.
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Voluntary Markets Gaining Traction Toward Convergence
- Voluntary carbon markets are gaining traction alongside established compliance markets, and Fusaro expects convergence by 2030 with rising prices for quality credits.
- He noted corporate buyers like DocuSign and Airbnb quietly purchase forestry credits, signaling private-sector demand.
Data Centers Will Lean On Gas And Renewables With Batteries
- Data centers will rely mainly on abundant U.S. natural gas and renewables paired with battery storage, while nuclear remains long-dated and costly.
- Fusaro argued batteries scale faster than new nuclear builds given recent decades-long nuclear delivery failures.
Some Industries Must Buy Credits While Others Can Innovate
- Hard-to-decarbonize sectors like aviation and shipping will likely rely heavily on purchasing credits, while industries such as steel and cement can decarbonize via innovation.
- Fusaro called out cement's 6–8% GHGe share and interest in nanotech to reduce emissions.