This Wednesday, Rio hosts the 1st micromobility carbon credit auction in the world

The world’s first carbon credit auction focused on micromobility takes place this Wednesday (27), in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Starting at 12 pm, companies will be able to compete for 1,500 “shares”, with an initial bid of US$ 7 each.

“Micromobility”, because the credits are from a shared bike company that operates in ten cities in Brazil and in the capitals of Argentina and Chile.

Last year, the company saved 7 thousand tons of carbon dioxide by offering the service to users, who stop using vehicles with fossil fuels.

The idea began to be developed last year by the City of Rio de Janeiro, through the Bolsa Verde project, an attempt to make the capital of Rio de Janeiro a sustainable business hub.

In addition, it will support the city’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020.

This Wednesday, the first transaction of the voluntary carbon credits market takes place in Rio de Janeiro, as the sector still has no formal regulation.

A bill that deals with the matter is running in the Chamber and should be voted on in the coming months.

The Undersecretary for Economic Development and Innovation in Rio, Marcel Balassiano, points out that the idea is to gain a pioneering spirit.

“Our goal is, when the Brazilian market is already regulated, to be able to take the lead,” he told CNN.

What is a carbon credits auction?

The voluntary market works as a kind of stock exchange for trading carbon credits, which work like a currency or share. For each amount of CO2 saved, a credit is generated. Thus, companies that wish to offset emissions can acquire it, for example.

According to Marcel Balassiano, this corporate ecosystem is made up of consultancies that make an inventory of how much companies emit and can save, others that generate credits, such as Tembici, the purchasers of credits, in addition to certifiers and platforms responsible for negotiations.

The business in Rio began to develop with the arrival of the AirCarbon Exchange (ACX), a platform that will hold the auction this Wednesday. It is a subsidiary of one of the largest carbon credit trading exchanges in the world and is based in Singapore.

The CFO of Tembici, the company that offers the credits, Leandro Fariello, believes that entering the voluntary carbon market will bring prominence and also a new source of revenue.

Today, the company makes a profit through renting bicycles, selling billboard advertising and sponsorship. Now, there will also be the sale of carbon credits.

Fariello bets on the company’s differentials to attract buyers. According to the executive, one of them is the generation of credit by cyclists from Rio de Janeiro itself and within a large urban center.

“It also has the environmental impact, which is inherent when replacing a vehicle with a combustion engine with a bicycle. And also for public health, reducing the number of vehicles, we can reduce accidents. And that sedentary person starts using the system to go to work, come back at night or go to school. In addition to the social impact. We lived through the pandemic. We all tracked how much the couriers used our bike,” she added.

For the government, the expectation is that the operations will develop and attract new players. One of the strategies is a bill, which is in the City Council of Rio, called ISS Neutral, which intends to lower the tax rate from 5% to 2% for companies in the sector.

“Rio has a long history of sustainability. There is the Tijuca Forest, it was the headquarters of Rio92, now we have Rio+30, it has a very strong relationship with this theme”, defended the undersecretary of Economic Development and Innovation in Rio, Marcel Balassiano.