WSJ snip:

Startups that sell carbon credits are the next big thing to hit Canada’s stock markets, which have long attracted risky companies from volatile cannabis producers to dodgy mining companies.

Nearly a dozen startups are expected to list their shares on Canadian exchanges to finance carbon-credit purchases or invest in climate ventures that generate credits, according to banking and exchange officials.

These carbon credits are in high demand. They are supposed to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere by funding things such as new technologies or forest preservation. Businesses and individuals buy them to effectively offset their own carbon emissions generated by things such as running factories or flying.

Startups are eager to meet that demand.  “It is becoming the Wild West out there,” said Philip Hardwick, chief operating officer of Base Carbon, which seeks out high-quality credits. He said:

“There is such a stampede for carbon-credit projects that the risks are getting greater that you will back the wrong one that doesn’t help the environment.”

Some recently launched Canadian ventures are creating carbon credits by distributing cook stoves that reduce carbon emissions or by growing new forests, which store greenhouse gases. Others are acquiring carbon credits earned by preventing threatened deforestation. One new business is joining with a company that injects captured carbon emissions into fresh concrete.

For a longer version of this article online, follow this link.

[CarrZee also likes the WSJ’s questions at the end. I subscribe to WSJ emails]

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