Carbon Credits 2026

Will the carbon pricing markets pass the Nietzsche Test?

10 September 2026

Half Day Event: 13.00 to 20.30 London Time

Reed Smith Offices at 1 Blossom Yard, London E1 6RS

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About the Event

Friedrich Nietzsche said, "What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger." In the last few years, the carbon pricing markets have put that aphorism to the test. Reputational issues with greenwashing and double-counting in the carbon credit markets and mismatching in the Energy Attribute Certificate (EAC) markets have deterred market participants. The overhang of unretired credits associated with discredited assessment methodologies is large. Prices have collapsed in voluntary, compliance and EAC markets. Standardisation remains elusive, with continuing complexity and fragmentation. After more than 20 years of effort, more than two thirds of emissions are uncovered, and traded volumes are modest by comparison with any other financial market. Political developments, including the election of a climate-sceptical administration in the United States and politically sensitive increases in energy costs in Europe, are proving unhelpful to carbon pricing markets. Confidence in market-led solutions to any problem, including environmental ones, continues to decline. Workarounds, such as long-dated power purchase and offtake agreements, are proliferating. On the other hand, signs of recovery are multiplying. High quality projects command premium prices. Focus is shifting to trading of so-called Article 6.0 offsets, which can overcome reputational challenges. Hourly trading of EACs, matching purchases and sales exactly, is in prospect. CORSIA is pioneering coverage of transport and sectoral standardisation. Familiar techniques, such as securitisation, are overcoming the complexity, fragmentation and absence of standardisation that have constrained growth – and attracting institutional capital previously deterred by lack of knowledge. Insurance against political risk is becoming available. Embedded carbon rules and rate-based trading are tackling the argument that carbon pricing militates against economic growth. This event will explore how the challenges facing the carbon pricing markets are being addressed, how the trust of issuers and investors is being restored, and what is being done to finally fulfil the longstanding expectations of large and liquid markets in carbon offsets, reductions and removals.

Order of the Day

13.00 to 14.00: Registration Opens with coffee and biscuits

14.00 to 14.10: Welcome Address: Future of Finance and Sponsors

14.10 to 14.30: Keynote Address

14.30 to 15.15: Panel 1 - From Carbon Credits to Carbon Costs: How Externalities Are Being Priced into Trade and Supply Chains

15.15 to 16.00: Panel 2 - From Footprints to Financials: Scope 3, Financed Emissions and the CFO’s Carbon Problem

16.00 to 16.45: Coffee Break and Networking

16.45 to 17.30: Panel 3 - What Can Be Done to Deliver Large and Liquid Markets in Carbon Credits?

17.30 to 20.30: Networking drinks and canapés

Audience

Investors, bankers, corporates, treasurers, CFOs, exchanges, project developers, regulators, lawyers, and technology firms discussing how the market can move from fragmented OTC trading toward transparent, liquid, and investable carbon markets.

All tickets are subject to approval. If your purchase is not approved, you will receive a full refund with no deductions. Refund requests may be made up to seven days before the event date. By purchasing a ticket, you agree to these terms.

Chatham House Policy

All panels are held under the Chatham House Rule to encourage open and candid discussion. All participants are free to use the information shared, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of speakers or attendees may be revealed.

To maintain this environment, sessions are not officially recorded or filmed, and no official event recordings are provided. Following each event, we will share key takeaways on our website and social media.

Panels & Key Discussion Topics

Host Welcome Address by Brett Hillis, Partner at Reed Smith

Brett Hillis

Reed Smith

14.00 to 14.10

Keynote Address

From Carbon Credits to Carbon Costs: How Externalities Are Being Priced into Trade and Supply Chains

Thomas Fuglesang

Entoro

The aim of this session is to move beyond the internal mechanics of carbon markets and look at how carbon and other externalities are now showing up in trade flows, procurement and cost of capital. Rather than focusing solely on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) of the European Union (EU), the idea is to explore how these kinds of measures - with the EU as a leader - are changing behaviour globally.

Emerging border measures and embedded-carbon rules changing the economics of exporting into high-ambition markets. Who ultimately pays the carbon cost - producer, importer, or consumer?
What does it mean in practice to talk about "embedded carbon" in goods and services, and how are suppliers starting to price that into long-term contracts and offtake agreements?
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Article 6 guidance, and the November 2025 Verra and Gold Standard announcements, made clear that only sovereign-authorised outcomes with Letters of Authorisation (LOAs) and Corresponding Adjustments (CA) have standing as international mitigation outcomes. What are the implications of this for global trade and corporate use of credits?
The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) has now fully aligned with Article 6 by requiring LOAs and CAs for eligible units. Does aviation provide a model for how other sectors - and cross-border trade more generally - will handle carbon in the future?
How should Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and procurement teams think about the risk that carbon and other externalities will be priced into more value chains over time, even outside Europe - and how can they prepare for that now?
As more jurisdictions adopt Emissions Trading Schemes (ETSs) or carbon taxes, there is speculation whether price signals will converge, or remain fragmented across regions and sectors. How might convergence or fragmentation affect long-term investment and supply-chain decisions?
How are lenders and rating agencies starting to look at exposure to emerging externality-pricing mechanisms when they assess creditworthiness and country or sector risk?
Does it still make sense to talk about carbon as an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) topic, or is it more accurate to say that carbon is now a trade, tax and competitiveness variable that mainstream finance needs to understand?

PANEL 1

14.30 to 15.15

AS MODERATOR

From Footprints to Financials: Scope 3, Financed Emissions and the CFO's Carbon Problem

Magnus Hammick

Carbon Plant

This panel focuses on how climate and carbon have moved inside financial reporting and risk-management systems. The international sustainability standard issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) - namely, International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) S2 - and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and related disclosure rules mean issues once handled by corporate sustainability teams now sit squarely within the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Risk Officer (CRO) and audit committee remit.

The introduction of International Financial Reporting Standard S2 (IFRS S2), Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and related disclosure regimes presage change in how companies manage, disclose and report carbon. Which parts of climate and carbon are now clearly within the area of responsibility of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO)?
It is easy for companies to think about Scope 3 emissions (i.e., carbon emissions that occur outside the direct control of a company, at suppliers, or in products used by customers, or even business travel) as a purely technical reporting challenge. How can companies think about Scope 3 emissions more broadly, in terms of prioritisation, data quality and strategy?
Banks and insurers now have to report financed emissions under the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) as well as IFRS S2, with Scope 3 Category 15 emissions (i.e., third party emissions funded by banks, asset managers and insurers). How is that changing portfolio construction, financial product design and engagement with clients?
Many companies built net-zero and "carbon-neutral" claims on the back of voluntary carbon credits. As legal, accounting and audit standards tighten, how should they think about their legacy books of credits and historical claims?
What is the practical difference, from an audit and litigation standpoint, between using instruments that sit outside sovereign accounting (i.e., traditional voluntary credits) and instruments that are clearly embedded in public law and national accounting systems?
What do companies and financial institutions actually need from carbon and climate instruments - in terms of legal clarity, accounting treatment, documentation and data - to be comfortable using them in material disclosures and carbon transition plans?
How are custodians and asset-servicing banks supporting institutional investors with carbon and climate data, particularly for financed emissions, portfolio alignment metrics and the treatment of carbon-linked instruments?
There is a possibility that companies must treat carbon and climate claims as a source of potential impairment, restatement and litigation risk in the same way they would treat other contingent liabilities. What legal advice are they being given?
Disputes, regulatory actions and investor challenges of various kinds are emerging around climate and carbon claims. What can issuers and financial institutions do to reduce those risks?
Reliance on buying voluntary offsets no longer looks like a credible strategy for companies and financial institutions. What does a credible alternative, finance-led plan look like?

PANEL 2

15.15 to 16.00

AS MODERATOR

What Can Be Done to Deliver Large and Liquid Markets in Carbon Credits?

Jim Row

Entoro

This panel will explore what "large and liquid" really means in an institutional context, and what is needed - in terms of legal foundations, infrastructure and product design - to move from today's fragmented markets to something that mainstream finance can use at scale.

For institutional investors, "large and liquid" carbon markets require depth, transparency, legal clarity, safe custody and credible accounting treatment. How far are today's carbon markets from meeting those standards?
How important is the legal foundation of units (e.g. Article 6 with Letters of Authorisation (LOAs) and Corresponding Adjustments (CAs) versus purely voluntary carbon credits) in determining whether carbon instruments can ever become mainstream, tradeable assets?
Can we realistically scale markets that rely primarily on project-by-project credits, or do we need more jurisdictional, sectoral and policy-linked approaches (Emissions Trading Schemes (ETSs), embedded-carbon rules, rate-based trading) to create meaningful volume?
In traditional financial markets, exchanges, custodians, asset managers and banks expect standardisation, solid documentation, risk management rules and regulatory clarity. What do they need to see in carbon markets before significantly increasing their participation?
Are exchanges, custodians and clearing houses ready to support truly large-scale carbon markets?
What are the infrastructural and risk mitigation gaps that still need to be closed in carbon markets?
How should we think about the interaction between compliance markets and voluntary markets - are they converging, diverging, or slowly being replaced by a more sovereign-led architecture?
Digital asset infrastructure, tokenisation, stablecoins and regulatory regimes such as the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCAR) issued by the European Union (EU) promise new ways to transact and settle carbon-linked instruments. What opportunities do they create?
What risks (legal, operational, regulatory) do tokenised forms of issuance, transfer and payment introduce to the carbon markets?
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) is now moving toward a global carbon‑pricing regime for international shipping (The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Net-Zero Framework) while aviation has its Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). What do these sectoral initiatives mean for the future of global carbon markets?
The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) pioneered by the European Union (EU) is attracting imitators elsewhere, notably in Canada and the United Kingdom. What do CBAM initiatives signal for the future shape of global carbon markets?
The overhang of legacy credits that may never meet emerging integrity or legal-standing tests are blocking market development and undermining the confidence of participants. What can be done (e.g., buy-backs, conversions or other mechanisms) about it?
Ultimately, a large, liquid carbon market needs multiple entities to take part: corporates, financial institutions, governments and compliance agencies. What do each of them need to see before they increase their involvement?