Our Mission
At Carbon Equity we believe there is no greater cause within our lifetime than fighting climate change. Fighting climate change requires action at every possible level – government regulation, taxation, changes in consumer and corporate behavior, paradigm shifts, cultural shifts and massive investments in technology to name but a few. Carbon Equity focuses on the latter.
We believe that to change consumer and corporate behavior at scale we need to build equally good alternatives by investing in technology.
By enabling access to private climate market investments we can leverage trillions in additional capital to mitigate climate change while creating more equitable ownership of one of the largest economic value creation opportunities the world has ever seen.
The Climate Challenge
It is hard to fathom just how dependent we are on fossil fuels. The way we power up our lives, move around, build our houses and grow our food – there is no escaping GHG emissions as we go about our daily lives. At the same time – we need to get to zero emissions within the next 30 years to limit devastating climate change. What this means is that to get to zero emissions, we need to literally reinvent every wheel of our economy. And exactly this presents one of the largest economic opportunities of our century.
31% | manufacturing & materials
How we make things
From the plastic pen in your hand to the cement floor your house is built on, manufactured goods and materials account for nearly a third of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Due to the highly technical nature of industrial processes, the decarbonization of industry is one of the toughest nuts to crack. A combination of higher resource efficiency, electrification, alternative fuels, carbon capture and green materials will get us there. Imagine creating high-quality recycled steel and producing cement that captures rather than emits carbon dioxide. Or better yet, building skyscrapers from wood to reduce the demand for steel and cement in the first place. The possibilities are endless, but we need to rethink our production processes and switch to a variation of green materials.
27% | Energy & Electricity
How we plug in
Even though electricity is responsible for 27% of the problem, it could represent much more than 27% of the solution. By using clean electricity we could start electrifying our industrial processes and shift away from burning fossil fuels for transportation. While the energy sector is assumed to be the quickest to decarbonize, it is facing a two headed challenge; getting to zero carbon emissions and satisfying the doubling demand for electricity in 2050 as other sectors switch to electricity.
We will focus on funds who find new ways to generate, store and use low-carbon electricity. Besides we need to scale up existing technologies like wind and solar, advanced nuclear power, geothermal energy and thermal generation with carbon capture.
19% | Food & Agriculture
How we grow things
This wide sector of “agriculture, forestry and other land use” accounts for 19% of the global emissions worldwide. Different than the other sectors, the main element of emissions in this sector is methane, a greenhouse gas 28 times stronger than carbon dioxide. Raising animals for food is the number one cause of these methane emissions. This is caused by enteric fermentation, the process of fermenting plants inside for example a cows stomach. Besides raising livestock, other big emitters are deforestation, other land use, and the way we use our soil and apply fertilizers to it to grow crops.
The next leaders in food will be companies who can reduce all these emissions while still meeting the global rising demand for food. Main contenders are companies working on cultivated and plant based meat and dairy products
16% | Mobility & transportation
How we get around
Around 50% of the emissions attributed to transportation could reach climate neutrality by electrification. EVs are already in early adoption, but it will take time to set up supply chains to support a switch to 100 percent EV. The other 50%, comprising trucks, cargo ships and airplanes are too big and travel too far to rely on battery power. The solution for this part of the pie needs to be found alternative fuels such as biofuels or electrofuels.
7% | buildings & climate control
How we live
We need to rethink the way we build, from industrial processes to using more sustainable materials. Besides building our homes we should also rethink the way we heat and warm buildings. Most of the technology required to decarbonize the way we heat & cool is already available. however, renovating large portions of existing building stock is a massive undertaking. Besides, the share of dwellings using renewable heating sources would need to increase to 100 percent from just 35% in the EU today. The path to zero will look like the path for passenger cars; electrify what we can, remove natural gas heaters and furnaces, and develop clean fuels to do the rest.
The Investment Challenge
Ultra high net worth and professional investors on average allocate 10-20% of their portfolio to private market funds. This is the higher risk share of their portfolio but also the part that drives outsized returns. The vast majority of individual (retail) investors however has no access to private market funds. There are 3 key hurdles to investing in private market funds for retail investors
Typically you need between EUR 5-10 mln to participate in a top venture capital or private equity fund.
In many countries you need to be a 'qualified' investor to be allowed to invest in private market funds.
To get into top funds at all you typically need a strong network and direct personal relationships with the general partners of the fund to be able to get a foot in the door.
Our Solution
Carbon Equity is the world’s first tech platform for alternative climate investments. We believe that we need to build equally good alternatives to rid ourselves of our fossil fuel dependency. We also believe that capital is one of the most powerful weapons we have to fight climate change. By opening up alternative investments, as a result of small ticket access to top climate funds, Carbon Equity dramatically grows the capital base available for high impact climate investments. At the same time – more people get to share in the tremendous upside of climate investing – creating a healthier and more equitable planet. Read more…
