Notes from our Calgary carbon pricing roundtable with RBC Capital Markets

In partnership with RBC Capital Markets, ClearBlue Markets hosted a roundtable in Calgary during the Energy Disruptors Summit, titled "Building a Carbon Market That Actually Works." Fifteen senior leaders from oil and gas, power and utilities, and industry took part, and the discussion was held off the record.

Brian Hong of RBC Capital Markets and Michael Berends, CEO and Co-Founder of ClearBlue Markets, have written up the group's main takeaways on policy certainty, market infrastructure, price design and the Clean Fuel Regulations (CFR).

Read the full article "Canada's carbon pricing at a crossroads" on RBC Capital Markets →

What participants said about the CFR

Participants broadly saw the CFR as "a credible national carbon market in its early stages." Their concern was financing. A short track record and a market that trades mostly spot make it difficult to raise capital against future credit revenue.

Our view

From where we sit, the CFR is already a strong market. ClearBlue Markets works with more than 30 clients across Canada on CFR credit generation and commercialization, and we commercialize tens of thousands of CFR credits annually. For many of the facilities we work with, from biogas plants to EV charging networks, credit sales are now a significant source of revenue.

The financing gap the roundtable described will narrow as the program builds a longer track record. In the meantime, forward supply agreements between credit generators and primary suppliers give a project a contracted revenue line that lenders can assess. ClearBlue Markets arranges these agreements for credit generators alongside spot sales.

Toronto Carbon Club panel on the CFR

Michael Berends joins Lorena Ellsworth of BrightSpot Climate and Douglas Dias of Greenfield Global on a Toronto Carbon Club panel on the CFR this Thursday, October 15. Moderated by Fiona D'Silva of BrightSpot Climate, the panel looks at what is driving CFR pricing now and follows a project from development and fuel supply through carbon intensity quantification and verification to credit creation.

The panel runs from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at 30 Adelaide Street, 12th floor, Toronto, with networking from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. There is no cost to attend.

Register for the Toronto Carbon Club panel →