Marsh LLC said Monday it has partnered with Dublin-based Venture Insurance Brokers Ltd., trading as We2Sure, to launch an insurance facility providing cover for carbon credit certificate fraud.
The facility, backed by Sompo International Holdings Ltd., Brit Ltd. and Talbot Underwriting Ltd., allows businesses in the U.S., United Kingdom and European Union to insure against the risk of purchasing counterfeit certificates, the sale of certificates for nonexistent projects, and theft.
Carbon credits can be used by businesses to offset their carbon dioxide emissions but are increasingly vulnerable to fraud, Marsh said.
Businesses using the facility will be able to access We2Sure technology that assesses the validity of certificates before they purchase them.
“The lack of standardization and transparency in the market makes it difficult for businesses to assess the legitimacy of the carbon credits they are buying,” Rupert Poland, U.K. digital asset leader at Marsh, said in a statement.
The facility will help mitigate the risk of the investments from a financial and reputational perspective, Mr. Poland said.
