Benoît Clément is a carbon markets development strategist with fifteen years of experience spanning institutional banking, environmental program management, and climate ventures, including three years as Director of Financial Innovation at Verra. His work maps the financial infrastructure gap—legal title, custody and settlement, data integrity, and commercial connectivity—that limits institutional capital deployment into carbon markets. A former co-chair of IETA’s Digital Climate Markets Working Group, former certified arborist, he holds an Executive MBA, and a CPO Certificate from Northwestern Kellogg.
VCM+ Fellow
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Why can’t a carbon project borrow money? Developers can spend years and millions before earning their first carbon credit revenue, yet many still struggle to access conventional bank loans. Read this blog from VCM+ Fellows Alvin Lim and Benoît Clément exploring what makes carbon projects difficult to finance, and what needs to change to unlock conventional debt. Read the blog.
The voluntary carbon market provides a critical avenue for corporations striving towards ambitious net zero goals. This session is part one of a two-part series, focused on the supply side of the equation. Panelists discussed the current levels of integrity in VCM credits and how corporations and others can identify high integrity credits, including use of the developing guidance from ICVCM. Watch the panel discussion.