Key themes and takeaways from “Building Institutional Confidence in the Carbon and Nature Markets - Scotland”
🌍 Key takeaways from our Moderator, Nature Broking CEO, Luke Baldwin and our panellists:
Gemma Jones – Director of Sustainability in their financial services practice at PWC
Fran van Dijk – CEO and Founder of One Stone Advisors which helps companies become successful sustainability leaders
Fraser Green – Head of Natural Capital Investment at Aberdeen raising capital for Aberdeen to invest in Nature
Keith Bohannon – CEO of Plan Vivo a leading carbon, communities and nature standard which now has over 441,575 hectares under management
Theme 1: Building Institutional Confidence by Unlocking Demand
Confidence hinges on demand: Institutional confidence in carbon and nature markets depends on robust demand, which lowers investment risk and drives project viability.
Quality projects matter: Investable natural capital projects must demonstrate high integrity, community engagement, and measurable social outcomes (Keith Bohannon).
Business resilience as a driver: Recognition of climate-related risks—like flooding or supply chain disruptions—is beginning to push corporates toward regenerative practices and natural capital investment.
Making markets “boring”: Panellists debated whether carbon markets should become routine and less controversial. While credibility and standards are still evolving, audit-style assurance (Fran van Dijk) and innovative accounting (Luke) could normalise carbon offsetting.
Profitability is key: Demonstrating financial returns from regenerative agriculture and nature-based solutions is essential to attract corporate buy-in (Gemma Jones, Keith Bohannon).
Theme 2: The Role of Government and Policy
Compliance over incentives: Panellists called for stronger statutory requirements rather than voluntary incentives to drive corporate action.
Policy risks and inflation: Concerns were raised about policy dilution and inflationary effects if mandates aren't paired with clear value creation for credit purchasers.
Government gaps: Lack of education and long-term commitment from governments hampers progress. Trust-building and consistent regulation are needed (Keith Bohannon, Fran van Dijk).
Nature needs a roadmap: Fran suggested a “graph for nature” akin to carbon pathways to visualise and track progress toward biodiversity goals.
Theme 3: Emerging Forms of Natural Capital
Beyond carbon: Biodiversity credits, water credits, and nature-as-infrastructure are gaining traction. Marine natural capital—like oyster beds, seagrass, and kelp—is an untapped opportunity (Keith Bohannon, Fran van Dijk).
Removals vs. avoidance: Concern over corporate preference for removal credits over reduction/avoidance. Panellists stressed the importance of balancing both and including co-benefits in assessments of projects.
Innovation and AI: Fraser Green highlighted the potential of AI to accelerate market development, especially in ocean carbon and regenerative woodland projects.
Theme 4: Positioning Edinburgh as the Natural Capital of the World
Scotland’s potential: Despite being a UK hub, Scotland lacks strong corporate demand. Scaling up and engaging end buyers is critical (Fraser Green).
Collaboration is key: Building partnerships across sectors will be essential to elevate Edinburgh’s global profile (Fran van Dijk).
Messaging matters: Negative rhetoric and political inertia must be countered with optimistic narratives and coordinated advocacy from all sectors (Gemma Jones).
Integrating supply and demand: Bridging the gap between project developers and buyers is vital to create a cohesive value chain (Keith Bohannon).