Press Release: Kita insures Marex’s investment in OxCarbon registered mangrove carbon credit project
- Carbon insurance specialist Kita recently expanded its Carbon Purchase Protection Cover to mangrove projects, with the aim of helping channel early-stage investment towards this type of essential carbon solution.
- The inclusion of Kita’s Carbon Purchase Protection Cover to the transaction structure adds a layer of security and stamp of confidence regarding project quality and performance.
- Marex supports the Global Mangrove Trust’s mangrove restoration and conservation project in North Sumatra, to provide its clients and the wider market with an inventory of high-quality carbon credits.
London, 18 September 2024 – Kita, the carbon insurance specialist and Lloyds of London Coverholder, today announced the expansion of its insurance to cover Marex Group PIc (NASDAQ: MRX) investment in Global Mangrove Trust’s (GMT) high-integrity mangrove project in North Sumatra. Capacity for Kita is provided by leading specialty (re)insurance group Chaucer.
GMT’s mangrove project was launched under the OxCarbon Standard by YAGASU and The Global Mangrove Trust, with support from Marex. It focuses on the restoration and conservation of coastal mangrove ecosystems, with livelihood generation and social programmes integral to the conservation approach. Kumi Analvtics provides verification using satellites, Al and on-the-ground monitoring.
Applying Kita’s Carbon Purchase Protection Cover to the project’s carbon credits adds a layer of security and acts as a stamp of confidence on the quality of the project itself. Kita undertakes in-depth risk assessment via its proprietary underwriting models and supports projects that meet its rigorous standards.
Marex provides essential liquidity, market access and infrastructure services to clients across energy, commodities and financial markets, including environmental commodities. It aims to be a leading provider of environmental commodities and support its clients as they transition to a low carbon economy.
Marex has invested in this blue carbon restoration and conservation proiect – known as 001- OxC- with YAGASU and The Global Mangrove Trust since 2021. Marex used carbon credits from this project t ooffset its Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions in 2023 and 2022 and plans to use the proiect to provide its clients and the wider market with an inventory of high-quality, risk-assessed carbon offsets.
“We are delighted to be working with Marex to offer our risk management expertise in the service of their commitment to driving the credibility of the Voluntary Carbon Market. I believe the combination of risk assessment and management that insurance brings, combined with the strong MRV and carbon modelling executed within the underlying project, represents the next stage of the VCM – high integrity, rigorously-assessed carbon projects within a risk-mitigated transaction structure. The result is driving proactive financing towards high-quality carbon projects, while safeguarding project stakeholders and enabling positive outcomes.”
Natalia Dorfman, CEO and Co-Founder, Kita
“The Global Mangrove Trust project provides Marex, our clients and the wider market with an inventory of high-quality carbon offsets. Marex is proud to have been the initial financier of the Global Mangrove Trust’s project, and we are delighted that, following a professional risk assessment process, it has satisfied Kita’s insurance criteria, as a Lloyds of London Coverholder. Kita’s coverage moves us towards more rigorous, regulated assessments.”
Bastien Declercq, Head of Environmental, Marex
Media Inquiries
Jana Phillips, Kita, jana.phillips@kita.earth
Andrea De Asco, Marex, adeascocortes@marex.com
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About Kita
Kita is the carbon insurance specialist. Kita develops bespoke carbon insurance products that safeguard the quality and performance of carbon transactions. By reducing risk, carbon insurance channels investment towards high-quality carbon projects, enabling them to scale at the pace needed to address the climate crisis. Kita is a coverholder at Lloyd’s of London, the world’s specialist insurance and reinsurance market, underwritten by underwriters at Lloyd’s.
For more information, visit Kita’s website and follow Kita on LinkedIn.
About Marex
Marex Group pl (NASDAQ: MRX) is a diversified global financial services platform providing essential liquidity, market access and infrastructure services to clients across energy, commodities and financial markets.
The Group provides comprehensive breadth and depth of coverage across four core services: Clearing, Agency and Execution, Market Making and Hedging and Investment Solutions. It has a leading franchise in many major metals, energy and agricultural products, executing around 129 million trades and clearing 856 million contracts in 2023. The Group provides access to the world’s major commodity markets, covering a broad range of clients that include some of the largest commodity producers, consumers and traders, banks, hedge funds and asset managers.
Headquartered in London with more than 35 offices worldwide, the Group has over 2,000 employees across Europe, Asia and the Americas. For more information visit www.marex.com.
About OxCarbon:
OxCarbon is a not-for-profit company, limited by guarantee, established in 2021 and spun-out by Oxford University Innovation. It seeks to promote innovation in climate impact projects that align with the Oxford Offsetting Principles. All surplus revenues generated by OxCarbon are used to support climate research, primarily at The Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford. For more information, visit http://oxcarbon.org/.
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Additional notes:
What are Mangroves?
Blue carbon ecosystems (of which mangroves are one subset) are found in coastal areas and are influenced by tidal movements, which play a crucial role in the carbon capture process. Mangroves are trees, shrubs, or palms that predominantly inhabit coastal swamps, which are susceptible to saltwater flooding during high tide.
Mangroves are a form of intertidal vegetation that can reach maturity within as little as 15-25 years. They start sequestering carbon just a few years after establishment and continue to do so throughout their entire lifespan. They are an effective and efficient carbon solution, in part because they can store carbon both within their biomass and in their surrounding soil.
Why do Mangroves matter?
While these ecosystems have a relatively small global footprint in terms of the area they cover, their deep, waterlogged soils can bury more carbon per acre compared to a tropical rainforest.
Due to the unique environment of these ecosystems and their low risk of wildfire, the carbon credits they generate offer longer permanence than other nature-based solutions.
Mangroves provide shoreline protection by acting as natural buffers and protecting coastlines from erosion and storm surges.
Mangroves support biodiversity by housing a diverse range of marine and terrestrial species and supporting critical habitats for various plants and animals. They support many species of fish that use coastal habitats as nursery grounds.
Mangroves help to improve water quality by filtering pollutants and nutrients from the water.
Why insurance?
Despite their numerous benefits, coastal ecosystems face significant threats from intense development pressure and climate change. Over the years, substantial portions of salt marshes, mangrove forests, and seagrass meadows have been lost due to human activities. Assigning carbon credits, offering insurance, and unlocking finance could provide monetary value to these ecosystems, helping withstand development pressures and preserving their multiple benefits for both people and nature.