[Carbon Market Trends Brief] Carbon Credits Move Toward Capital Markets Through Insurance > 게시글

Carbon Market Trends Brief (3rd Week of February 2026)
• DelAgua secures 4.7 million tonnes of CORSIA credits structured with insurance
• Emerging accounting approaches recognize carbon credits as assets through insurance-backed risk management

Insurance is increasingly becoming a core component of carbon credit transaction structures. DelAgua secured approximately 4.7 million tonnes of CORSIA-eligible credits and incorporated insurance covering corresponding adjustment risks, thereby establishing a transaction structure that includes buyer protection. Meanwhile, law firm Clyde & Co has adopted an accounting structure that hedges credit non-delivery risk through insurance, allowing long-term contracted credits to be recognized as financial assets rather than expenses. These cases suggest that insurance-based risk management is emerging as a key prerequisite for carbon credits to integrate more closely with capital markets.

Insurance-Backed CORSIA Credits Enhance Supply Stability in the Compliance Market
Clean cooking project developer DelAgua announced that more than 4.7 million tonnes of its credits have been approved for use under Phase 1 of CORSIA. The credits were generated from cookstove distribution projects in Africa and were issued with the first-ever CORSIA tag applied by Verra.
Notably, DelAgua incorporated insurance into the approval process to mitigate post-issuance risks. If a host country revises its corresponding adjustment ratio due to domestic NDC targets, developers may face shortfalls in the volume of credits they initially planned to supply. Such disruptions could directly affect buyers’ decarbonization strategies. By addressing this uncertainty through insurance, DelAgua enhanced the level of stability and predictability required by companies participating in the compliance market. As a result, a substantial portion of the approved volume has already been sold under forward contracts. This case illustrates the expanding role of insurance in reinforcing transaction stability within the carbon market.

Emergence of Insurance-Based Carbon Credit Asset Management Structures
UK law firm Clyde & Co introduced insurance into its long-term carbon removal credit contract with advisory firm Nature Broking and applied a structure that allows the credits to be recognized as assets on its financial statements. Insurer Kita provides coverage for project non-delivery risk, mitigating uncertainties traditionally associated with long-term forward purchases of carbon credits.
Through this structure, delivery risk is transferred to the insurer, enabling the purchasing company to manage the contract as an asset within its accounting and financial framework. As a result, insurance serves as a foundation for expanding long-term carbon credit contracts beyond expense treatment into the domains of financial strategy and risk management.

Implications
• Insurance as a Mechanism for Transforming Carbon Credits from Tradable Goods into Financial Structures
The DelAgua and Clyde & Co cases demonstrate that insurance functions not merely as an ex-post compensation tool, but as a core mechanism reshaping how carbon credits are traded, held, and accounted for. When risks such as non-delivery or invalidation are structurally separated through insurance, credits can be treated not as products overly dependent on individual project performance, but as contract-based assets with standardized risk profiles. This suggests that the key prerequisite for linking carbon credits to capital markets lies not in pricing or demand, but in the financial decomposability of risk.

• Domestic Carbon Credit Insurance Must Evolve from Public Support Instrument to Market Infrastructure
Korea’s carbon credit investment insurance remains primarily a public support mechanism focused on international mitigation outcomes (ITMOs), limiting its ability to accommodate the diversity and complexity of voluntary carbon market (VCM) transactions. In contrast, overseas cases show insurance functioning as market infrastructure that enables complex deal structures, including long-term forward purchases, removal credits, and hybrid compliance-voluntary contracts. If private insurers expand participation and develop products covering the broader VCM, carbon credits in Korea could evolve beyond policy tools into investable asset classes capable of attracting private capital.

Related Articles & References
1. DelAgua Secures CORSIA Approval For 4.7M Carbon Credits
2. Kita Insures Landmark Deal Where Carbon Credits Are Balance Sheet Assets
3. 무보, 국내기업 베트남 진출 사업에 탄소배출권투자보험 최초 지원