Shell expects rapid growth in carbon credit markets by 2030

Bloomberg

The value of the voluntary carbon market that allows polluters to buy credits to offset emissions is set to grow fivefold by 2030, after expanding at a record pace over the past two years, according to Shell Plc.
The global voluntary market is expected to increase from an estimated value of $2 billion in 2021, Shell said in a statement, citing a joint report released with Boston Consulting Group.
The compliance market surged to about $850 billion in 2021, more than double the value in the previous year, the
report said.
The so-called compliance markets is where laws require major emitters of greenhouse gases to buy permits or credits, while voluntary markets are for independent entities to purchase for their own use.
“The increase in value and volume, despite the current economic headwinds, is a sign of the growing importance of the voluntary carbon market,” Nick
Osborne, general manager for Shell’s global environmental products, said in the statement. “We are seeing a concerted effort from businesses to build sustainable carbon credit strategies that they and their stakeholders have confidence in.”
The voluntary market has expanded rapidly in recent years as countries increasingly set more ambitious climate targets, leading corporate polluters including Shell to buy credits. Still, skepticism has also grown over the credibility of the market, and whether the credits make meaningful impact on removing emissions from the atmosphere.
Shell is a provider of carbon credits, and has used them to offset fossil fuel shipments.
Ensuring integrity through a high-grading of credit quality, as well as compliance regulations, is crucial given that the markets are expected to grow at an accelerated pace, Anders Porsborg-Smith, managing director at BCG, said in the statement.
Demand for some types of credits will start to surpass supply before 2024, faster than Shell and BCG’s earlier forecast, according to the statement.
Shell acquires US EV charging company

Shell agreed to buy US electric-vehicle charging firm Volta Inc. as the fossil-fuel giant works to keep pace with the transition to low-carbon mobility.
The $169 million takeover of Volta — which installs chargers with video advertising screens at grocery stores, office buildings and elsewhere — is emblematic of an accelerating shift in focus for a frirm that relied on a vast network of traditional filling stations to reach customers.
Shell USA will purchase Volta for 86 US cents a share in cash, the San Francisco-based charging firm said in a statement. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of this year.
Volta, which went public in 2021 through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, has struggled in the past year, with its two top executives abruptly exiting last March. The firm issued a going-concern warning in May as cash reserves dwindled and fired more than half its workforce to stabilise its finances. The acquisition is part of Shell’s efforts to prepare for a world in which oil consumption ebbs as more industries electrify and people ditch combustion-engine cars.