The Pros and Cons of investing in carbon-credit related startup companies

Carbon credits are part of the overall solution for reducing CO2 in the atmosphere and have attracted significant interest from investors and companies.

When considering investing in a carbon-credit related  startup company, it may be helpful to consider the following Pros and Cons.

Pros

  • The world must find ways to slow global warming.
  • Startups developing carbon reduction products may find that their customers can benefit by selling credits generated when using the company’s products. This may incrementally lower the sales friction encountered by the startup.
  • A startup can directly deploy carbon reduction technology and benefit from selling credits. For example, the startup can own and operate wind or solar power generation facilities or can own and operate systems that capture and utilize the methane gas that is emitted from waste disposal sites, coal mines, or livestock farms.

Cons

  • Thinking big picture, carbon credits are an indirect approach to reducing carbon entering the atmosphere, and most often don’t reduce CO2 at the source, where the CO2 is most concentrated.  And  the purchasing of carbon credits allows buyers to avoid reducing or eliminating their own emissions and may be motivated more by a need for greenwashing marketing campaigns than a financial commitment  to slowing global warming.
  • If the company’s primary mission is to sell carbon credits, consider that carbon credits are unregulated and vary widely in quality and impact. There is no standard way to measure, verify, and certify the emissions reductions or removals that carbon credits represent. Some carbon credits may be based on dubious or fraudulent projects that do not actually reduce or remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
  • Carbon credit marketplace startups face the same challenge that every marketplace startup faces, namely, achieving a balance of supply and demand, and having to be equally successful with two disparate marketing campaigns.
  • A carbon credit selling startup may be creating credits planting monocultures of trees, which are inherently damaging to the environment by decreasing biodiversity has negative impacts on soil quality, water availability, and wildlife habitat, thereby reducing the resilience and adaptability of forests to climate change and natural disasters. Insect and bird populations around the world are plummeting precipitously in part due to the destruction of the biodiverse habitats that they depend upon. Read more

The Mensarius Oath oh Ethical Investing

The Fund General Partners Juan Thurman and Bob Bridge, have taken the Mensarius Oath.

As a financial professional that invests in enterprises using personal or investor capital, I hereby pledge to honor these values. If it is determined by myself or a panel of my peers that I have violated these values without reconciliation agreed between all involved parties, then I will voluntarily leave the industry.

  • With my dealings, I create positive outcomes financially and otherwise for all of those involved, including the conscious avoidance of harm to any parties.
  • In my profession of finance, I endeavor to help create positive outcomes for all of humanity.
  • Being in the industry, I will help others to achieve the highest standards that I set for myself and my organization.
  • As a steward of the trade, I work against any abuse of power that leads to unfair advantage, seduction, corruption or mistreatment.
  • As a person who can affect the outcome, I commit to reducing inequality and increasing fairness in society.
  • In honor of the community, I pledge to treat all that approach me with fairness, equality and the attention that each opportunity deserves.
  • As part of my work, I keep all matters that are understood to be private with all available protections to keep safe from public or other unwanted disclosure.
  • As a professional, I am open and honest in all of my dealings with those that I serve, including Investors and Founders.

Announcing an investment in ClearFlame Engine Technologies

The Semilla Climate Capital is pleased to announce an investment in ClearFlame Engine Technologies, part of a larger raise of $30M in Series B funding for the company.

The latest investments were led by Mercuria Energy Group, one of the world’s largest privately held energy and commodities companies, with Mercuria and Breakthrough Energy Ventures both making second investments. New investors, including mining corporation Rio Tinto, and WIND Ventures, the strategic venture arm of Copec, one of Latin America’s leading mobility and energy companies, see ClearFlame as part of a holistic suite of strategies to advance environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals.

ClearFlame Engine Technologies significantly reduces GHG emissions for long-haul trucking, agriculture, power generation, and other sectors by transforming heavy-duty engines to run more cost-effectively and cleaner on 100% renewable, plant-based fuels.

GP Juan Thurman in the news.

The investment tracking platform SERAF featured Juan Thurman in the seventh in a series of interviews highlighting the work of interesting impact investors. Juan Thurman is a General Partner of the Semilla Climate Capital.

SERAF asked, “Looking ahead in early stage impact investing, what are you most excited about? What keeps you up at night?”

Juan replied, “When we started engaging with investors in 2016 they assumed impact investing was concessionary. Fortunately, investors have become more educated and now know you can make market or better returns investing in impact startups. The thing I am most excited about is working with early stage founders, helping them get traction and seeing them deliver impact in their chosen markets. Missing out on good deals is what keeps me up at night.”