Carbon Offset Funds

Carbon funds, both public and private, vary widely in their focus and the nature of their investments. Some funds focus exclusively on purchasing carbon offset credits, while others invest in projects or companies that have the potential to generate carbon assets. A study in late 2007 estimated that there were 58 carbon funds in operation and projected that the number would reach 67 in 2008. The 58 funds were expected to have USD 10.8 billion (EUR 7 billion) in management in 2007 and to increase to nearly USD 14.6 billion (EUR 9.5 billion) in 2008 (Cochran and Leguet, 2007).

Find more detailed information about the World Bank’s Carbon Finance Unit, which manages the largest pool of investments worth over USD 2 billion (World Bank, 2007), and focuses predominantly on Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI) offset credits.