Carbon Market Conversations: A Podcast by ICAP

In this episode of ICAP’s Carbon Market Conversations, host Trevor Laroche-Theune takes listeners on a deep-dive into the carbon pricing and climate policy landscape in India with expert guest, Saurabh Diddi, Director at the Bureau of Energy Efficiency within the Ministry of Power. This conversation focuses on the development and implementation of India’s Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), specifically touching on how the system fits into India’s broader climate and energy strategies, key design features, and lessons other jurisdictions can learn from India’s experience. A more detailed breakdown of the topics explored and where you can listen to the episode is listed below.

Breakdown of topics covered:

0:55 – Introduction to today’s topic and our guests 

2:40 – Overview of India’s carbon market development journey

4:35 – How India’s Perform, Achieve, and Trade (PAT) Scheme experience informed the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) development

8:00 – The goals of the CCTS and how it fits into India’s broader climate and energy strategies incentivizing industry and voluntary market participation 

9:30 – CCTS approach to scope 2 and scope 3 emissions and ensuring system integrity

12:20 – Relationship between the compliance market and the voluntary offset market

13:25 – Emissions targets

14:35 – Lessons emerging economies can learn from India’s experience developing the CCTS

18:20 – Benefitting from existing MRV infrastructure

19:50 – Energy auditing and verification

22:40 – Key challenges that must be properly address in the Indian climate policy context

24:25 – Closing remarks

More information about the India CCTS can be found here.

In this episode of ICAP’s Carbon Market Conversations, host Trevor Laroche-Theune takes listeners on a deep-dive into carbon pricing developments in Brazil with expert guest, José Pedro Neves, General Coordinator for Sustainable Finance at the Secretariat for Economic Policy of Brazil’s Ministry of Finance. This conversation focuses on the ongoing development of Brazil’s ETS, how the system will be tailored to the country context, lessons other jurisdictions can learn from Brazil’s experience, and what we can expect heading into COP30. A more detailed breakdown of the topics explored and where you can listen to them is listed below.

Breakdown of topics covered:

0:55 - Introduction to today’s topic and our guests

2:40 - Overview of Brazil’s ETS development process and the factors that were influential in the Brazilian government moving forward with the system

5:00 - How Brazil’s system is significant in advancing climate policy goals in the country

7:40 - System design elements and challenges that remain before full implementation

9:40 – Adapting the ETS to Brazil’s country context

12:30 - Expected economic and social impacts including in the Amazon region and others with high LULUCF emissions

16:10 - Lessons other countries can learn from Brazil’s experience

19:20 - Expectations for the role carbon pricing will play at COP30

22:50 - Key challenge that must be properly addressed in the coming years in the world of carbon pricing and what steps can be taken toward their resolution

25:20 - Closing remarks

In this episode of ICAP’s Carbon Market Conversations, host Trevor Laroche-Theune takes listeners on a deep-dive into the Washington State Cap-and-Invest Program with expert guests Joel Creswell, Climate Pollution Reduction Program Manager at the Washington State Department of Ecology, and Isaac Kastama, Director, Government Relations for Clean & Prosperous. This conversation focuses on what has made Washington’s program particularly successful, how the Washington public reaffirmed the state’s commitment to climate action choosing to keep the program in place in a 2024 ballot vote, the status of linkage prospects with carbon markets in California and Québec, and key lessons other jurisdictions can take away from Washington’s experience. A more detailed breakdown of the topics explored and where you can listen to them is listed below.

Breakdown of topics covered:

0:55 - Introduction to today’s topic and our guests

3:15 - Overview of Washington’s program and what has made it successful

7:20 - What was at stake in the 2024 ballot vote

12:00 - Communication strategies (and the ballot vote campaign)

16:40 - Showing people what they are voting for: the result of including financial impacts on the ballot card

18:45 - Key lessons from Washington’s experience for other jurisdictions

26:50 - Importance of transparency in climate policy

29:45 - Status of linkage discussions with programs in California and Québec 

32:00 - Potential opportunities and challenges that come with linkage

35:15 - California’s reauthorization

36:40 - Key challenges that must be properly addressed in the coming years in Washington and what steps can be taken toward their resolution

41:15 - Closing remarks

In this episode of ICAP’s Carbon Market Conversations, host Trevor Laroche-Theune is joined by ICAP Carbon Market Experts, Iryna Holovko and Victor Alejandro Ortiz Rivera for an engaging discussion on the latest developments in compliance carbon markets worldwide. Building on insights from ICAP’s latest Status Report, the conversation explores how ETSs have evolved over the past year, delving into key trends, regional highlights, and cross-cutting themes that are shaping the global carbon market landscape. From the latest statistics to emerging system designs and alignment with net-zero targets, this episode unpacks the most significant milestones and challenges facing the carbon market community today. Our guests also share their perspectives on what they see as a critical issue that must be addressed to ensure the continued success of ETSs in the years to come.

Access the full ICAP ETS Status Report here: https://icapcarbonaction.com/en/publications/emissions-trading-worldwide-icap-status-report-2025

Breakdown of topics covered:

0:55 - Introduction to today’s topic and our guests

3:25 - Highlight statistics related to ETS this year

4:45 - ETS revenues

6:00 - Carbon credit use in ETSs

9:00 - Latest developments in Europe and Central Asia

13:15 - Latest developments in Latin America and the Caribbean

15:10 - Latest developments in North America

19:00 - Latest developments in the Asia-Pacific

22:30 - Cross-cutting themes: alignment with net-zero targets

23:15 - Cross-cutting themes: emergence of diverse system designs

24:30 - Cross-cutting themes: scope expansion

25:30 - Cross-cutting themes: carbon border adjustment mechanisms

26:45 - A key challenge that must be properly addressed in the coming years in the compliance carbon market space and what steps can be taken toward its resolution

30:30 - Closing remarks

In this episode of ICAP’s Carbon Market Conversations, we dive into the crucial role of carbon pricing revenues in advancing climate action, economic resilience, and social equity. Host Trevor Laroche-Theune is joined by Diana Cárdenas Monar, Research Fellow at the Institute for Climate Economics, to reflect on why carbon pricing revenue use is so important and explore how governments worldwide are strategically allocating these revenues. From California to the EU, South Korea, and beyond, they discuss best practices, emerging trends, and the challenges of ensuring carbon revenues support a just transition.

Diana also shares key insights from her recent work, Maximising benefits of carbon pricing through carbon revenue use: A review of international experiences, which outlines a four-step approach to maximizing the impact of carbon revenues. Read the full report here: https://www.i4ce.org/en/publication/maximising-benefits-carbon-pricing-through-carbon-revenue-use-review-international-experiences-climate/

Tune in for expert perspectives on revenue recycling, policy design, and the future of carbon pricing as a key tool for climate finance.

Breakdown of topics covered:

0:55 - Introduction to today’s topic and our guest, Diana Cárdenas Monar

2:45 - Introduction to how carbon pricing instruments accrue revenue and why revenue recycling is an important concept and practice

5:00 - How revenues can affect environmental and economic objectives

6:35 - How revenues can contribute to a just transition and the social acceptability of carbon pricing

10:30 - The most common ways that jurisdictions allocate carbon pricing revenues and differences by country profile

15:00 - Further jurisdiction-specific examples that stand out

19:10 - A four-step approach to making the most of carbon pricing revenues

25:10 - Notable lessons from jurisdictions that have successfully implemented strategic revenue use

27:30 - Potential pitfalls or unintended consequences of revenue use and compensation measures and how policymakers can avoid such issues

29:50 - Future developments in carbon pricing revenue use strategies

32:45 - How global climate finance discussions influence revenue allocation

35:45 - A key challenge that must be properly addressed in the coming years of financing the transition to a low-carbon economy and what steps can be taken toward its resolution

38:05 - Closing remarks