Virtus: Convergent Paths in Climate Finance
Welcome to the October edition of our Virtus newsletter!
As autumn settles in and the season turns, we’re reflecting on the pace of change in climate finance – much like the shifting October leaves, the landscape continues to evolve. This month brings bold policy moves, major capital deployment signals, and new science that deepens our understanding of how nature and markets intersect in the fight against climate change.
In Our Take, Sean explores a powerful idea — convergent disagreement — and why carbon market advocates and market critics may be closer in vision than they appear. He unpacks the philosophical and financial tensions shaping the voluntary carbon market and argue that, ultimately, both sides seek finance structures that protect the planet and the communities most vulnerable to warming.
This month’s Untangling Climate Financed featured Valentin Lautier, Founder and CEO of Homaio. He and Jay explored how compliance carbon markets can become accessible to everyday investors. Valentin shared how Homaio turns EU carbon allowances (EUAs) from the EU Emissions Trading Systems into investable climate assets that deliver both returns and real emissions impact.
In What We’re Absorbing, we dig into CATF’s deep dive on biomass-based carbon removal in California, cutting-edge research on peatland carbon feedbacks (a nod to Jay’s academic roots!), and the UNFCCC’s case for carbon pricing as a catalyst for resilience and investment in Small Island Developing States.
And in Climate Finance Deals, we spotlight major U.S. investments in grid upgrades and next-generation nuclear, alongside Europe’s push to scale strategic technologies.
All the best,
Gordian Knot Strategies
We are Igniting Climate Solutions: Mobilizing $1 Billion Per Year in Impact Investment by 2030!
Written by: Sean Penrith
A couple of weeks ago, I read the piece titled “Study Finds Carbon Offsets Failing to Deliver Real Climate Impact,” which was based on the article “Are Carbon Offsets Fixable?” In the abstract for the article, authors Romm, Lezak, and Alshamsi conclude that “most popular offset project types feature intractable quality problems,” and “We should focus on creating rules to find and fund the relatively few types of high-quality projects while employing alternative finance and strategies.”
As a participant in the voluntary carbon market (VCM) for over two decades, I agree that the authors flag real issues that need remedies and are in the process of receiving focused attention in an effort to enhance the integrity of the VCM. VCM projects must indeed demonstrate substantiated additionality, account for permanence, and avoid double-counting.
The recommendation that the world find “alternative finance and strategies” is the gateway to the divide between pro-market advocates and staunch combatants of market mechanisms. Critics of carbon markets do not reject private capital flowing to the Global South; they reject the market logic that, in their view, perpetuates extractive relationships and commodifies nature. Instead of expanding voluntary carbon markets or offset mechanisms, they are calling for a wholesale reorientation of climate finance toward direct public investment, reformed development finance institutions, and mandatory regulatory frameworks. Their vision emphasizes redistribution over trading, featuring large-scale grant-based finance, concessional lending, and debt restructuring that relieve fiscal pressure rather than create new forms of dependence.
This alternative framework places governments and communities, not markets, at the center of climate action. These advocates push for transformative investments in renewable energy, technology transfer, and just transition programs financed through public guarantees, restructured multilateral bank mandates, and regional cooperation mechanisms that retain capital in developing economies. In their view, integrity in climate finance is achieved not through credit ratings or carbon credit registries, but through transparency, community control, and development-aligned outcomes.
To read the rest of this paper, click here.
Client Served in the United States:
GKS was enlisted by an innovative soil technology company to craft a robust go-to-market strategy for their novel tech offerings. The approach involved a meticulous evaluation of how the company’s soil carbon actionable data could seamlessly integrate into current and future carbon markets. This comprehensive strategy included identifying priority global markets and outlining a strategic approach to optimize market reach. After completion of the initial work, the company re-engaged GKS for a subsequent phase. GKS revisited the collaboration to distill findings into effective recommendations for pricing models tailored to the company’s unique business model. Through interviews with market actors, rigorous market research, SWOT evaluations, and other analytical methods, GKS provided insights that not only aligned with the company’s immediate goals but also positioned them strategically for sustained success in the dynamic landscape of soil technology and carbon markets.
“Sean has been a go-to, trusted advisor to my team for many years on climate finance. His experience across multiple sectors helps us gain a better perspective on the progress we are trying to make. Sean’s guidance has helped my team improve our skills and understanding of blended finance, which allows us to better support our partners and get to our desired impact faster and more effectively.”
Maggie Monast – Senior Director of Climate-Smart Agriculture, Environmental Defense Fund
🎙️ In this episode, Valentin Lautier, Founder and CEO of Homaio, explores how they are helping everyday investors get involved with compliance carbon markets. He shares how Homaio turns EU carbon allowances (EUAs) into investable climate assets that generate both returns and real emissions impact. Valentin also discusses how regulation, technology, and accessibility are driving the next wave of carbon investing, and why giving individuals a stake in decarbonisation could accelerate global climate action.
Click any of the links below to listen!
Below is a curated selection of standout opportunities brought to you by GKS’s valued clients.
Savory Foundation: Carbon Removal Credits – Uruguay Grasslands Regeneration Project
The Savory Foundation along with the Savory Institute, Pampa Oriental, and Cultivo are now offering nature-based carbon removal credits from their Uruguay Grasslands Regeneration Project. This groundbreaking project spans 115,00 hectares, employing Savory’s Holistic Management framework to restore grasslands while supporting local communities and ecosystems.
The project, under Verra’s VM0032 Methodology for Sustainable Grasslands, anticipates an annual issuance of around 152,000 credits, beginning in 2026, and addresses the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals – 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, 13: Climate Action, 15: Life of Land, and 17: Partnership for the Goals.
To learn more about this project and its impact, click here.
If you want to connect about the project, email us here.
This month, we’re diving into bold new insights on biomass carbon removal in California, breakthrough research on peatland vulnerability (special nod to Jay’s peatland roots), and a strategic look at how carbon pricing could empower Small Island States in global climate markets.
✍️ In Drought-induced peatland carbon loss exacerbated by elevated CO₂ and warming (Quan Quan et al.), researchers show that extreme droughts – when combined with warming and elevated CO2 – dramatically accelerate peatland carbon loss. Experimental plots experiencing high heat and CO2 saw up to nearly 4x greater carbon release than baseline conditions, driven by lower water tables and increased plant-derived carbon fueling decomposition. The results highlight a critical feedback risk: climate change could weaken peatlands’ role as carbon sinks just when they matter most – a finding of particular interest given Jay’s master’s research focus on peatland ecosystems.
✍️ In Exploring Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage Scenarios for California (Clean Air Task Force), researchers assess how the state could meet its 2045 carbon removal goal through biomass-based CDR pathways that tap agricultural and forest residues. The report finds that BiCRS could deliver 13–75 million metric tons of CO2e annual removals without competing with food production – while boosting rural economies, supporting wildfire resilience, and offering scalable, cost-effective pathways within a diverse CDR portfolio.
✍️ Carbon pricing emerges as a potential transformative tool for Small Island Developing States in the UNFCCC’s Regional Dialogue on Carbon Pricing for SIDS report. The analysis emphasizes that well-designed pricing systems – supported by Article 6 cooperation, sustained capacity building, and strong MRV systems – could boost resilience, unlock climate finance, and accelerate low-carbon development. Success hinges on international partnerships and national ownership to ensure equity, environmental integrity, and alignment with SIDS’ priorities.
This month’s climate finance deals span major U.S. grid and nuclear investments, strategic tech funding in Europe, and expanding public–private capital mobilization – all reinforcing the critical role of infrastructure, innovation, and energy security in the global climate transition. Click the titles for links.
US Awards $1.6 Billion Loan for AEP Transmission Projects
The U.S. government has approved a $1.6B loan guarantee for American Electric Power to modernize 5,000 miles of transmission lines across five states – boosting grid capacity and reliability. The financing highlights continued federal support for large-scale infrastructure projects that enable cleaner energy integration and strengthen climate-aligned grid resilience.
US Strikes $80 billion Deal for New Nuclear Power Plants
The U.S. has struck an $80B partnership to build new nuclear reactors with Westinghouse and its Canadian owners, signaling a major federal push to expand clean baseload power. With government-backed financing and profit-sharing terms, the deal underscores nuclear’s growing role in climate-aligned energy strategy — especially as AI-driven electricity demand rises and next-generation reactors gain momentum.
Wallenbergs in Talks to Back €5 Billion Europe Tech Fund
While not directly a climate initiative, the EU’s planned €5B Scale-Up Fund to back AI, quantum and semiconductor firms has clear climate linkages. By bolstering strategic deep-tech industries and prioritizing clean-energy technologies among its targets, the fund aims to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness — and indirectly accelerate climate innovation through next-gen computing, advanced materials, and energy-efficiency breakthroughs critical to the transition.
At Gordian Knot Strategies, our goal is to help mobilize $1 billion per year in climate finance. That is why we’re committed to making climate finance smarter and faster by addressing a broken impact investing screening process. That’s why we built Traro®, a predictive analytics platform designed to help investors rapidly triage opportunities with clarity, consistency, and confidence.
We recently hosted a live webinar focused on leveraging Traro® for more effective impact investing screening. If you weren’t able to attend, the recording link can be found here.
For those interested in further exploring these best practices, a free guide is available – Smarter Climate Investing: 7 Strategic Filters Before Your First Impact Dollar – which distills actionable lessons learned for screening climate projects using seven essential criteria.
If your organization is interested in seeing Traro® in action, we’d love to show you how it works. Email us at traro@gordianknotstrategies.com. There’s no cost to access the guide or the demo. Our goal is to equip more investors with tools that unlock real climate impact.
Seeking Impact Investment? Submit your project to Traro®!
We invite project developers to submit their projects for screening on the Traro® Platform at no cost. Based on assessment outcomes, we can match you with interested impact investors (there is no fee). You can find more information and how to create an account on Traro® here.
We are building a global database of impact investors to help mobilize $1 billion annually in climate finance by 2030. If your organization is interested in providing funding for climate or environmental projects, we invite you to fill out our Impact Investor Information Form. Your contact details will remain confidential, and we’ll only connect you with aligned opportunities. There is no fee to participate.
To access the form click here.
Interested in connecting with us on climate finance, impact investment, climate solutions strategy, or carbon credit development and commercialization?
Book a 30-minute conversation with Gordian Knot Strategies here to discuss how we can support your goals.
Disclaimer: Hi there, you are receiving this update from Gordian Knot Strategies based on your previous engagement with us in some capacity. If you wish to unsubscribe, please use the link below, and we promise you that your contact details will be permanently removed from our distribution list. Thanks!
Want to unsubscribe?
Click here.
Want to receive this newsletter?
Click here.
If you want to see more of our content, check out our weekly dispatch, Sliced.
Click here.
