London & Sydney, 10th September 2016: Carbon Trade Exchange (CTX), the first global electronic marketplace for voluntary carbon market credits, has re-launched today, with a number of upgrades including: an improved user interface; clearer project selection; and a simplified pricing model that means buyers now pay the price listed inclusive of all platform fees.
CTX was taken offline to ensure a smooth transition of its global operating license to European Environmental Markets (EEM), based in London. The platform is now live for Gold Standard trading, with other standards following over the coming weeks.
“We took the opportunity of the license transition to make a number of functionality improvements and operational changes that enhance CTX, based on feedback from users and our experience of developing exchanges in multiple markets and regions,” said Wayne Sharpe, Founder of CTX and the Founder and Chairman of Global Environmental Markets. “These and other developments in the pipeline will ensure that CTX remains the primary global marketplace for voluntary carbon procurement.”
CTX was designed to increase investment in climate action. Reflecting that, the platform is now free to access for active market participants that have the relevant Registry accounts*. Furthermore, Buyers will now pay the price listed with no additional fees, whilst sellers only pay fees based upon completed sales.
“The European market has responded incredibly well to EEM’s approach: clear advice from a well-respected team with deep expertise in sustainability and environmental markets,” said Adrian Rimmer, CEO of European Environmental Markets. “CTX has always represented the technological leap needed to bring scale and trust to the voluntary market; it expands our offering and enables us to extend our high level of service to a global client base.”
CTX brings choice and confidence to the voluntary carbon market by providing access to a wide range of projects and due-diligence information about them, combined with greater transparency and security. It does this through operating a cloud-based trading venue with direct Registry connections and secure, multi-currency banking connection through Westpac Bank since 2010. Work is in progress to apply the platform to other environmental commodities including renewable energy certificates and biomass, creating a trading destination for a wide range of sustainability assets.
* Free to join with ongoing free access based upon agreed usage. Prospective members must have an active Gold Standard (Markit) or APX Registry account.
About Carbon Trade Exchange
Carbon Trade Exchange (CTX) is the first and still the only global electronic exchange for the voluntary carbon market, operating successfully for almost ten years, over which time tens of millions of tonnes of CO2 reductions certified by the major international standards have been securely transacted by corporates, project developers, brokers and NGOs. CTX offers a comprehensive, transparent and secure electronic marketplace for buyers and sellers of certified Gold Standard and Verified Carbon Standard VERs (Verified Emission Reductions, also known as carbon credits or carbon offsets).
How it works
- Buyers and Sellers join the exchange as members, enabling them to list their VERs for sale and to buy from those listed.
- By joining members agree to standardised legal and commercial terms, enabling contracts to be created and exchanged electronically in real time.
- Buyers can easily search for and list the types of credit that they wish to buy against a range of fields (country, standard, project type, vintage etc.) in order to view all available projects and select according to price or other criteria
- Buyers accounts must be ‘in funds’ to be able to procure from the exchange, meaning Sellers have total confidence that they will be paid as soon as a trade takes place.
- VERs listed for sale are ‘locked’ whilst listed on the exchange, meaning that buyers have total confidence that they will immediately receive the specific VERs they have chosen and that those VERs are legitimate.
- Direct electronic connections to the Registries of the international standards enable immediate online access to project documentation and audit reports for research and due diligence.
- Trades are cleared and settled electronically in real time and funds transferred simultaneously.
- Buyers and Sellers can choose from four currencies (EUR, GBP, USD, AUD) in which to respectively view, buy and sell their VERs – paying and being paid in that currency (FX rates are updated every three hours). The exchange manages the FX conversion ensuring that buyers and sellers pay and receive the price they expect.
- Westpac bank provides the secure banking connection to the CTX platform, which was first interfaced with Westpac bank in 2010.
Membership offer
Until 1st February 2017 the platform will be free to join for any active market participant that has a Gold Standard (Markit) Registry account (or other approved Registries). Previous CTX members will also benefit from a fast-track process. Annual membership fees will continue to be waived subject to achieving agreed trading volumes.
To apply please visit www.ctxglobal.net and start a new application.
If you have any questions about the application process or wish to enquire about our other services, please contact Andrew Tew at andrew.tew@evomorf.com/ctx or call the EEM team on +44 (0) 203 598 5890.