BNP Paribas launches voluntary climate offsetting platform

French banking giant BNP Paribas has launched a new voluntary carbon offsetting platform to help connect investors with on-the-ground projects to cut carbon emissions.

Launched by the bank's Securities Services' arm on Friday, ClimateSeed is already host to 19 project developers selling carbon credits for the reduction of eight million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents.

"We are excited to be launching ClimateSeed today," said ClimateSeed CEO Sébastien Nunes. "Currently, many voluntary carbon reduction projects remain unfunded. Our objective is to address this issue by connecting investors with project developers through a centralised platform, which we believe will spur the development of the voluntary offsetting of carbon emissions."

Businesses can use ClimateSeed to buy carbon credits to offset their emissions, in turn supporting projects to reduce emissions and drive progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Each project hosted on the platform will undergo a three-stage verification process, including project analysis from a sustainability committee and certification against international standards, to make sure it contributes to real carbon reduction.

The platform will reinvest all the profits it generates in its continued development, BNP said.

Patrick Colle, general manager of BNP Paribas Securities Services, said ClimateSeed will also feed into BNP's wider decarbonisation and SDG agenda.

"This new digital platform allows us to leverage our expertise to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations," he said. "As well as supporting climate action, voluntary carbon offsetting projects often help bring more prosperity and social inclusion in local communities."