The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) is proud to launch a new carbon market in collaboration with Xpansiv, the premier infrastructure provider for global environmental markets under a separate legal entity called JSE Ventures. This groundbreaking sustainability initiative will allow local participants to buy or sell carbon credits and renewable energy certificates that are held in either local or global registries.

Customers will be able to advance their sustainability goals as they will have full access to the functionality of the global Xpansiv platform for spot trading, auctions, or requests for quotes for both carbon offsets and renewable energy certificates.

According to the Atlantic Council, voluntary carbon markets increased four times from 2020 to 2022 surpassing two billion dollars in value – and African credits have seen an average growth of 36% on average over the last five years. *

“There is a heightened global focus on carbon markets and we saw this as an opportunity to bring an innovative solution to our market participants while positioning South Africa as a significant contributor to decarbonisation,” says Leila Fourie, JSE Group CEO.

“An exciting aspect of operating the global environmental markets infrastructure is partnering with leaders like the JSE to enable new marketplaces to scale the energy transition and efficiently support climate finance,” said John Melby, CEO, Xpansiv. “We look forward to working with the exceptional JSE team to promptly deliver a world-class carbon and renewable energy marketplace in Africa and to enabling new regional products and initiatives to thrive as the continent steps up its global climate ambition.”

Formed in 2016, Xpansiv is a premier provider of environmental market technology including registry infrastructure, market data, and portfolio management platforms.

South Africa is the twelfth highest emitter of carbon globally and has an increasing need for access and supply of carbon credits. A South African voluntary carbon market will accelerate the creation of carbon offset projects, help meet the demand for credits by emitters seeking to offset their emissions, increase investment interest in the country, and contribute meaningfully to helping grow the economy and improve sustainability practices.

“This initiative is suited to market participants that have identified clear sustainability commitments, particularly towards net-zero. We look forward to engaging with them on the platform’s range of environmental offerings,” adds Fourie.

“Our aim is to promote transparency in an evolving landscape for environmental investment. We hope to do this while expediting potential funding mechanisms for these projects” concludes Fourie.

Source: Xpansiv