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Carbon credits and the fight for transparency with Tommy Ricketts (BeZero Carbon)

Oct 9, 2025
Tommy Ricketts, co-founder and CEO of BeZero Carbon, unpacks the intricacies of carbon markets. He highlights the fundamental challenge of proving the impact of carbon credits and advocates for rigorous rating systems to enhance transparency and trust. Tommy argues that viewing carbon credits as probabilistic risk instruments can better inform buyers and address market failures. He also shares insights on the lifecycle of carbon projects, the differences between voluntary and compliance markets, and his views on governance in carbon ratings.
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INSIGHT

Price Didn’t Reflect Quality

  • Price and quality were uncorrelated across carbon credits, breaking price as an information signal.
  • BeZero's ratings aim to restore price mechanisms so buyers can interpret risk and value quality accurately.
ADVICE

Use Ratings Before Buying Credits

  • Check whether a project has been rated and review the underlying analysis before buying credits.
  • Prefer higher-rated projects at similar prices to get better expected climate impact.
INSIGHT

Voluntary Disclosure Is Patchy, Compliance Can Be Opaque

  • Disclosure in the voluntary market exists but is patchy, with inconsistent language and numeric quality.
  • Compliance (government) markets can be more opaque despite mandatory purchasing rules.
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