BME’s Spanish central securities depository Iberclear has developed a Voluntary Registry for carbon and biodiversity inventories, in collaboration with ClimateTrade, a blockchain-based carbon credit trading platform.

The Voluntary Registry allows companies to offset their carbon footprint. It hopes to assist with efforts aligned with the Paris Agreement and the Task Force on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets, which outlines companies must reach the goal of zero emissions by 2050.

The end-to-end solution enables companies to offset their emissions through green credits.

Starting from a photovoltaic plant, the proof of concept consisted of measuring, reporting and verifying the tons of CO2 avoided to the atmosphere in a totally digital way, through the Digital – MRV software, BME is reported to have said.

Its connection through an application programming interface allows Iberclear to receive, validate and annotate the green credits verified in its registry.

Meanwhile, the automatic connection between the Iberclear Voluntary Registry and the ClimateTrade Marketplace permits the sale of green credits and their cancellation in the Iberclear Voluntary Registry, eliminating the risk of double accounting.

According to BME, the Voluntary Registry will be a key piece for the proper functioning of future voluntary carbon mechanisms.

As well as managing information and monitoring mitigation initiatives, the registry certifies the transfer and cancellation of carbon credits, which guarantees the integrity, transparency and traceability of all entries made.

Through this initiative, BME said it has strengthened its commitment to helping Spain tackle climate change by encouraging energy efficiency and corporate compensation projects, which will complement existing public regulatory and compensatory mechanisms.

Other collaborators on the project include Acciona Energía and SGS Tecnos, SAU as an independent third-party verifier.

Read ClimateTrade's statement here