EarthDaily Carbon Credit Summit

How Earth Observation impacts the monitoring and verifying the carbon stock of forest projects, tracking and measuring changes in vegetation cover, assessing GHG emissions, and support Coastal Blue Carbon activities.

Introduction: 

Nowadays everyone is faced with rapid changes due to environmental challenges, EarthDaily Analytics hosted a collaborative dinner event with industry leaders to share insights on Earth Observation and the role of Carbon Credits in meeting these challenges. The gathering brought together thought leaders and visionaries from across the fields of finance, technology, and energy, providing a unique opportunity to delve into the role of Earth Observation in reshaping the financial Carbon Credit landscape. 

A Visionary Host: James Tansey, VP of Carbon Analytics at EarthDaily Analytics: 

The event and roundtable discussion were led by James Tansey, an expert in Carbon Credits and sustainable finance, with a background that seamlessly blends entrepreneurship, education, and a passion for impact investing. As the VP of Carbon Analytics at EarthDaily Analytics, James brought deep knowledge and real-world investment experience in the Carbon Credit market to the discussion.  

Distinguished Attendees:

The EarthDaily Analytics Dinner was attended by some of the most influential players in the financial sector. These attendees brought their expertise and vision to the table, and the ensuing discussions were nothing short of illuminating. Below is an overview of a few of the event attendees, their feedback during the event and their existing Carbon Credit initiatives.

1. Barclay’s: One of the world’s leading financial institutions, known for its commitment to sustainability and green finance. During the event they cited their goal of purchasing at least 42,000 voluntary carbon credits to remain carbon neutral.

• Bezos Earth Fund: Founded by Jeff Bezos, this fund is dedicated to addressing the world’s most pressing environmental issues. This year Bezos Earth Fund announced $9.7 million to provide carbon market training for indigenous peoples and Llcal communities in the Brazilian Amazon

• IBM: A technology giant that is pioneering innovative solutions in Earth Observation and environmental sustainability. IBM’s initiatives with iBM The Carbon Performance Engine, were discussed on how they use AI and geospatial analytic models

• JPMC (J.P. Morgan Chase): A major player in the financial world, actively working towards a more sustainable futureby creating The Center for Carbon Transition (CCT) that has been tasked with delivering on JPMorgan Chase’s commitment to align its financing with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

• S&P Global: Known for its financial market expertise, S&P Global is increasingly incorporating environmental factors into its analysis. S&P Global brings transparency to nascent carbon markets, enabling both voluntary and compliance markets to grow with infrastructure, price assessments, benchmarks, data and insight.

• Blackrock: The world’s largest asset manager, dedicated to sustainable investing and responsible stewardship. It was discussed BlackRock will use at least 5% of the net revenue from its management fee from LEAF to purchase and then retire carbon offsets.

Maneesh Sagar, Chairman and CEO of RS Metrics, said,
“Given our focus at RS Metrics on global asset-level geolocation use cases, the roundtable discussion was extremely relevant. It was especially reassuring to hear feedback from JPMC, Barclay’s, Blackrock, S&P Global, and others that this type of Earth Observation (EO) asset-level data was also a key part of their financial services decision-making process. Such discussions are foundational to the enhancement of our data solutions and they further help us continue to meet the current needs of our diverse customers.”

The Dinner Event: A Platform for Transformation

This dinner event was not only an opportunity to network with industry leaders but also a platform for knowledge sharing and collaboration. The discussions revolved around how Earth Observation and Carbon Credit Validation are set to revolutionize the financial sector, making sustainability and environmental responsibility a core part of financial strategies.

Many remote sensing and carbon monitoring experts in attendance stressed the need for satellite data for change detection and validation. In addition, they outlined the need to acquire historical satellite imagery to establish a baseline. This baseline would serve as a reference point for assessing changes over time. This historical imagery helps us understand the carbon stock or emissions levels before the project’s initiation.[CP1] 

During the conversations it also became clear to the attendees that EarthDaily’s upcoming constellation and data set would be ideal to monitor Carbon projects as a Change Detection system.

It would help them understand the projects and serve as vital information to Mitigate Risk for all projects.

One specific Use Case for Project Developers was the use of EarthDaily data to monitor the health of trees/vegetation. In some instances, vegetation was dying because of drought or wildfires.

The use of this data would save them time and effort to minimize their need for site visits. It would also help them monitor buffer zones to determine the presence of illegal logging or human settlement.

In the ever-evolving world of finance, the EarthDaily Analytics Dinner served as a crucial milestone in defining the path forward, where Earth Observation and Carbon Credit Validation are at the heart of financial innovation. We look forward to more such gatherings, where ideas transform into action and sustainability becomes integral to our economic future.

About the Author

Mike Spaeth brings a wealth of expertise to EarthDaily Analytics, where he serves as the Commercial Director of North America. Before this role, he held the position of Head of ESG Earth Intelligence at Maxar. With a diverse career encompassing various aspects of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and environmental policy, Mr. Spaeth has made significant contributions in legislative arenas, ESG consulting, sustainability strategy development, high-tech start-up growth, workplace safety advocacy, education, and political activism.

Before joining EarthDaily Analytics, Mike Spaeth served as the ESG Director at Moody’s, played a crucial role as a legislative associate for US Senator Frank Lautenberg, and led campaigns supporting Clinton/Gore. His ESG leadership extended to Fortune 500 companies, where he guided their efforts and offered insightful perspectives to shape forward-looking strategies.

Mr. Spaeth holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters in Public Administration from Seton Hall University. His unwavering commitment revolves around harnessing the power of corporate and political altruism, activism, and change inertia to drive progress and create a better world than yesterday, last week, and last year.

There was also a call for more standardization and acceptance of the data used to support Carbon Markets [CP1]