The company is driving the development of the first purchase-and-sale platform for carbon rights based on blockchain in the world, created by the Spanish start-up Climate Blockchain Initiatives

ACCIONA has reached agreement with the Spanish start-up Climate Blockchain Initiatives (CBI) to drive the global growth of the ClimateTrade purchase-and-sale platform for carbon rights, developed by CBI using blockchain technology. It is a pioneering innovative experience in the world that speeds up and simplifies transactions with total traceability, security and transparency.

ACCIONA, the biggest independent global operator working exclusively in the field of clean energies, is a pioneer in the use of blockchain in the renewables sector. It has already developed projects to guarantee the traceability of 100% renewable electricity generated in its facilities and also the energy stored in Li-ion batteries.

The ClimateTrade platform connects generators of carbon offsets with companies and other organizations that need to purchase them to comply with their carbon footprint reduction targets or with requirements arising from environmental legislation in a given market. It can also be used by companies that wish to offer their clients the possibility of offsetting emissions created through the purchase of a product or service.

“ClimateTrade will greatly facilitate commercial transactions between generators and purchasers of carbon rights, opening up a very interesting business and innovative perspective for ACCIONA within the framework of the transition to a decarbonized economy, which is complementary to our main activity of supplying renewable energy”, explains Santiago Gómez Ramos, the company’s Energy Management Director.

For his part, ClimateTrade CEO Francisco Benedito says that “working hand in hand with the leading world utility in sustainability on large-scale projects that have a high social content and comply with a number of SDGs means taking the platform to the next level. Thanks to ACCIONA, trust in our company has increased and this enables us to carry out a higher number of large-scale transactions with corporate clients, as well as giving us the security of being able to undertake new energy-related and carbon offset projects based on ACCIONA’s expertise in the fields of construction, energy and technology”.

A simplified process

The main advantage of ClimateTrade over other carbon offset transaction systems is that the use of blockchain considerably speeds up and simplifies the process without jeopardising security. For example, the process of selling Certified Emission Reduction (CER) certificates under the Kyoto Protocol usually takes more than two months, whereas it can be completed in just 48 hours through ClimateTrade.

ACCIONA will provide the platform with Certified Emission Reduction (CER) certificates linked to its renewable generation plants in emerging countries such as Mexico, Chile and Costa Rica, which are traded under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the United Nations. As well as the CERs, ACCIONA will provide information on the corporate social responsibility initiatives associated with the renewable projects in question, that are linked in turn to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to them.

“By committing to the ClimateTrade project, we align ourselves with a triple strategic objective for ACCIONA: the fight against climate change, innovative digitization as a lever for bringing about the energy transition, and social responsibility towards the communities  where we develop our projects”, explains Mikel Ortiz de Latierro, Director of Prevention, Sustainability, Environment and Quality of ACCIONA’s Energy Division.

Carbon credit markets are trading systems in which organizations, companies or individuals can sell or purchase rights to emit greenhouse effect gases (GHG) through a series of procedures, such as the carrying out of renewable energy projects, reforestation, etc, with the aim of providing economic incentives to reduce GHG.

ClimateTrade is particularly oriented to voluntary carbon markets that allow the purchase of carbon credits to offset the emissions of a person, company or organization. These are governed by a series of international standards, including the one regulated by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).