Oka, The Carbon Insurance Company™ (Oka) and Oregon Biochar Solutions Bring First Insured Biochar Credits to Market

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Mar 14, 2024, 09:05 ET

PARK CITY, Utah, March 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Oka, The Carbon Insurance Company™ (Oka) has partnered with Oregon Biochar Solutions (OBS) to bring world-first invalidation-insured biochar credits to the voluntary carbon market (VCM). Facilitated by OBS project proponent GECA Environnement (GECA), the collaboration sets a new record in the VCM and an ambitious new benchmark for high-quality biochar carbon removal (BCR) credits.

Demand is surging for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects, with BCR accounting for 94% of all such credit deliveries in 2023. Revenue generated from credits has, in turn, helped developers achieve commercial viability. Today, BCR credits are scalable, reliable, affordable, and associated with a host of co-benefits, prompting the World Economic Forum (WEF) to call BCR the carbon sequestration "jack of all trades."

A leader in the biochar industry since its inception, OBS has consistently aimed to offer buyers and investors access to high-quality biochar, industrial capacity, and sustainable production. OBS was the first CDR project in the Americas to transact credits in 2021, and also the first industrial-scale project in America to be certified under the market-leading Puro. Earth standard.

Three years later, the project has, once again, shown its commitment to innovation and reliability by partnering with Oka on a world-first insurance solution.

Commenting on the partnership, Oka Founder & CEO Chris Slater said: "Oka is delighted to be the first insurance provider to underwrite biochar credits, and we couldn't have found more natural partners in OBS and GECA: two companies continuously pushing the bounds of climate science and carbon market innovation. Amid soaring demand for BCR, risk-protections such as ours will help guide capital towards the highest-quality and most impactful projects."

Melissa Leung, GECA's Director of Business Development, added: "OBS and GECA are excited to announce a game-changing partnership with Oka. We believe insurance in the VCM provides an additional layer of trust through diligence, and confidence for buyers looking to de-risk their purchases. Being the first out of the gate with insurance-wrapped biochar credits sets OBS and the GECA portfolio at the forefront of the market and sends a critical signal of quality to our customers."

1 CDR.fyi, 2023 Year in Review (2024) https://www.cdr.fyi/blog/2023-year-in-review

2 World Economic Forum, Biochar is carbon removal's jack of all trades (2023)

About GECA

About Oregon Biochar Solutions

About Oka, The Carbon Insurance Company™

Oka is a global INSURTECH100 and ESGFINTECH100 company.

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Media Contact

Chris Slater
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LEGAL DISCLAIMER

Carbon Protect™ is an insurance policy available to certain eligible owners of carbon credits in jurisdictions where Carbon Insurance Agency, LLC is licensed as a surplus lines insurance producer. Eligibility is determined based on applicable underwriting criteria, and coverage is always subject to the terms and conditions of an applicable policy. Carbon Insurance Agency, LLC has authority to enter into contracts of insurance on behalf of the Lloyd's underwriting members of Oka syndicate 1922 which is affiliated with Carbon Insurance Agency, LLC and managed by Asta Managing Agency, a managing agent at Lloyd's.

SOURCE Oka, The Carbon Insurance Company