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Welcome to the Carbon Exposure Podcast! A platform for peer-to-peer conversations with people who are driving forward the carbon markets of tomorrow. Join your host Rene Velasquez we get to discuss topics at the intersection of ESG and finance over cocktails, with the amazing backdrop of the lion city, Singapore.

  1. 17-12-2025

    Why Climate Inaction Is the Biggest Financial Risk - Scobie Mackay (Co-founder & CEO, Imperative)

    In this episode of the Carbon Exposure Project, we sit down with Scobie Mackay, Co-Founder & CEO of Imperative, to unpack what it will take to make nature a genuinely investable asset class. Scobie brings a rare perspective — combining 15+ years in structured finance at Macquarie and Standard Chartered with hands-on experience developing infrastructure-grade nature-based carbon removal projects across the Global South. We explore why capital has struggled to flow into nature at scale, why delivery and reputational risk remain misunderstood, and why the risk of climate inaction is still not being priced into financial decision-making — despite trillions of dollars at stake. This is a conversation about projects, execution, and capital discipline, not theory. 🔍 What we cover Why the risk of climate and biodiversity inaction remains off balance sheetTreating nature-based carbon projects like infrastructure, not offsetsProfessionalising project development to attract institutional capitalDelivery risk, permanence, and why “day-one diligence” isn’t enoughBuilding large-scale native ecosystem and mangrove restoration projectsLong-term offtakes, insurance, and managing commodity price riskWhy biodiversity outcomes are already commanding a market premium ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 Introduction 02:30 From finance to climate 05:20 Climate and biodiversity as a test of collective intelligence 06:40 Discovering carbon markets 08:40 Why institutional capital struggles with carbon projects 11:15 Treating nature projects like infrastructure 14:45 Imperative’s focus: nature-based removals 17:00 Flight to quality and removals 20:10 Execution risk and project controls 24:00 In-house execution and long-term operations 27:40 Risk in carbon markets 32:10 Pricing the risk of climate inaction 40:00 Insurance, offtakes, and delivery guarantees 46:50 Biodiversity premiums and market signals 53:00 Making nature investable

    56 min

  2. 03-12-2025

    How Verity Nature is Planting 4 BILLION trees in Kenya - Duncan Van Der Merwe

    How Verity Nature is Planting 4 Billion Trees in Kenya 🌳 | Duncan Van Der Merwe In this episode of Carbon Exposure, we sit down with Duncan Van Der Merwe – Co-founder & Chair of Verity Nature to unpack one of the world’s most ambitious nature-based climate programmes. Verity Nature is a profit-for-purpose company that designs, builds and operates large-scale nature restoration projects with local communities at the centre. From their base in Australia, with teams in New Zealand, East Africa and beyond, they focus on high-integrity carbon and co-benefit credits backed by science, technology and long-term operations.  Their projects span reforestation and landscape regeneration in New Zealand (e.g. Black Hill Station in Canterbury and a large natural regeneration programme in the Chatham Islands) and blue carbon restoration pilots in Australia, where they’re restoring coastal and tidal ecosystems as future carbon sinks.  At the heart of this conversation is Kenya. Under President Ruto’s national drive to plant 15 billion trees by 2032, the Kenyan government has asked Verity Nature to help restore degraded landscapes at unprecedented scale.  Verity has proposed reforesting up to 4 billion native trees as part of this effort – potentially the largest ARR (Afforestation/Reforestation/Revegetation) programme in the voluntary carbon market. Their model combines: Infrastructure-grade project design – 40-year operations with long-term permanence rights Community-led restoration – partnering with local organisations like CCB Corridors and using mobile tools (e.g. “Si Si Na Miti”) so farmers and grandmothers can plant trees, track survival and earn income Tech from satellites to blockchain – remote sensing, MRV and digital traceability to show exactly where credits come from and how trees are performing over time What we cover:  00:00 – Introduction: Why Nature-Based Removals Need Infrastructure Thinking 04:30 – Verity Nature’s Model: Building & Operating Long-Term Projects 09:00 – Why East Africa? Strategic Focus on Kenya and Uganda 14:00 – The Kenya Project: Tying into President Ruto’s 15-Billion-Tree Vision 19:30 – Planting Up to 4 Billion Trees: Scale, Design and Execution 25:00 – Communities, Farmers and Grandmothers: Why Women Are Central 31:00 – Tech Stack: From Satellites to Blockchain for Integrity & MRV 38:00 – Risk Management & Delivery: Avoiding the Non-Delivery Trap 45:00 – The 400M Credit Pipeline & the 2030 Removals Gap 51:00 – What Buyers Should Do Now & Closing Reflections

    56 min

  3. 19-11-2025

    How Saudi Arabia Plans to Become a Leading Carbon Market Hub – Erik Ringvold (VCM Company)

    Saudi Arabia is moving fast: top-down ambition, patient capital, and a vision to scale carbon markets across the entire Arab region. In this episode, Erik Ringvold — Chief Business Development Officer at the Saudi Voluntary Carbon Market Company (VCM) — breaks down how the Kingdom is building the infrastructure, the demand base, and the regional alliances to make it happen. And momentum is accelerating: VCM recently announced major partnerships with MSCI Carbon Markets to bring advanced carbon market intelligence to Saudi companies, and with BeZero Carbon to strengthen credit quality and transparency across its exchange. What we cover:00:00 – Introduction & Tunisia Setting 01:43 – Erik’s Journey into Carbon Markets 02:55 – From McKinsey to Carbon Market Development 06:26 – Why Saudi Arabia Has the Ingredients for a Carbon Hub 11:50 – Building Integrity and Confidence in the VCM 14:46 – The Role of Corporates and Perverse Incentives28:30 – Financing, Demand Signals & Market Fundamentals 29:41 – Nature-Based vs. Durable Removals 32:19 – Regional Collaboration Across the Arab World 33:52 – The Tunis Auction & Interconnected Order Books 36:30 – Global Participation & Future Outlook

    39 min

  4. 05-11-2025

    An Investor’s View on the Next Generation of Climate Investments – John Sharp (Hatcher)

    The Carbon Exposure Project is back to wrap up Season 3 of the Carbon Exposure Project after the summer break! This week, we sit down in Singapore with John Sharp, co-founder of Hatcher — an investor, technologist, and builder who has helped raise hundreds of millions for nature-based climate projects. John brings a rare investor’s lens to the voluntary carbon markets: what really happened after the Guardian exposé, why investor confidence evaporated, and how capital is now pivoting toward infrastructure-grade climate solutions. From the rise and fall of Carbon Nation to bold bets on green steel, carbontech, and even a space-based sunshield, this episode explores where the next generation of climate investments will come from — and what makes them truly bankable. 💡 In this episode: 💸 The Carbon Nation story — raising $250M for nature-based solutions before the 2023 crash 📉 How sentiment collapsed after the Guardian article — and what that meant for investors 🏗️ The shift toward infrastructure-grade assets: green steel, cement, and carbontech 🌍 What makes a project “bankable” in climate finance 🚀 John’s next frontier: Earth Guard, a satellite project designed to stabilize Earth’s temperature Chapters:  00:00 – Introduction: From Music to Markets 05:30 – Building Hatcher: Automating Venture Capital 07:00 – Entering Carbon: Launching Carbon Nation 09:30 – Market Shock: The Guardian Article & Carbon Crisis 15:00 – Lessons from the Field: Soil, Cookstoves & Mangroves 23:40 – Pivoting Strategy: From Carbon to Green Infrastructure 34:50 – The Bigger Picture: How Large Is the Carbon Market Really? 38:00 – Policy & the Politics of Carbon Pricing 45:00 – Investing in Climate Tech: Hardware, Deep Tech & Patience 55:30 – Beyond Earth: The Earth Guard Project

    1u 11m

  5. 28-05-2025

    Demystifying Carbon Credits - Galia Orme

    During the IETA European Climate Summit held in Lisbon, we spoke with some inspiring voices at the conference. In this European Climate Summit Special Episode, we're joined by Head of Projects & Legal at ONE TRIBE. Welcome to the Carbon Exposure Project!

    14 min

  6. 21-05-2025

    From Delta to Yum! - Stephanie Zhu on Corporate Climate Action

    During the IETA European Climate Summit held in Lisbon, we spoke with some inspiring voices at the conference. In this European Climate Summit Special Episode, we're joined by Stephanie Zhu, former sustainability member at Delta Air Lines, and now active as Director of Climate at Yum! Brands. Topics discussed: 00:00 – introduction A light intro leading into the live recording at the European Climate Summit. 01:25 – Stephanie Zhu’s Sustainability Journey From finance to ESG leadership at Delta Airlines and Yum! Brands. 03:42 – Inside Delta: Navigating the Voluntary Carbon Market A first-hand look at how one of the world’s biggest airlines approached offsets. 05:10 – Reduce and Invest: A Dual Strategy for Decarbonization Why internal reductions and external investments must go hand-in-hand. 06:57 – Carbon Markets Are Complicated—Here’s Why Challenges in understanding offsets, additionality, and building a credible portfolio. 10:55 – From Aviation to Agriculture: Cross-Sector Climate Strategy The different decarbonization hurdles across industries—and how to tackle them. 14:05 – The Voluntary Paradox Why companies taking climate action face more scrutiny than those doing nothing. 16:00 – A Pragmatic Path Forward for Corporate Climate Action Let’s not let perfection stall progress—what realism looks like in sustainability.

    19 min

  7. 07-05-2025

    Building Climate Businesses, Not Just Carbon Projects – David Antonioli

    During the IETA European Climate Summit held in Lisbon, we spoke with some inspiring voices at the conference. In this European Climate Summit Special Episode, we're joined by David Antonioli, former Founder & CEO of Verra.Topics discussed in this episode:00:00 – Introduction 02:32 – David’s new paper: “Financing the Transitions the World Needs” 03:41 – Rethinking carbon markets: key insights from the report 06:03 – Biochar: a case for real-world carbon solutions 09:04 – Developer vs. biochar business: shifting identities 11:29 – “On paper” vs. reality in project scalability 14:58 – The “three buckets” of climate project economics 18:03 – Keeping projects operational & long-term thinking 21:03 – Market incentives and insetting as cost strategies 24:03 – Rewriting the climate narrative & new leadership 27:03 – Global insights and financial infrastructure reform 28:26 – A new paradigm for transition-focused markets 30:03 – Carbon credits as tools, not destinations

    31 min

  8. 30-04-2025

    Turning Waste into Worth: Circular Solutions & Carbon Innovation – Sandra Pinzón García

    During the IETA European Climate Summit held in Lisbon, we spoke with some inspiring voices at the conference. In this European Climate Summit Special Episode, we're joined by Sandra Pinzón García, Founder & CEO of Global Zero Waste. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the episode! Topics discussed in this episode: 00:00 – Introduction & Sandra’s mission in circular economy 01:26 – From carbon markets to plastic credits 02:54 – Defining circular economy: water, energy & materials 06:03 – The rise of plastic credits & Cercarbono partnership 09:04 – Building a new methodology for global recycling projects 10:24 – Innovation, R&D and project transformation 14:53 – Scaling impact through zero-waste strategies 18:37 – Sandra’s reflections on climate leadership

    25 min
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Welcome to the Carbon Exposure Podcast! A platform for peer-to-peer conversations with people who are driving forward the carbon markets of tomorrow. Join your host Rene Velasquez we get to discuss topics at the intersection of ESG and finance over cocktails, with the amazing backdrop of the lion city, Singapore.

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