On the CBL market, a credit that a year ago sold for barely $US1 per tonne now fetches $US7.80. CBL’s specifically forestry-based credits jumped from $US4 to almost $US15, outpacing the price gain of almost any other commodity.

The big players can help with price discovery, reduce the need for in-house expertise, and cut transaction costs. Ben Stuart, Sydney-based co-founder of CBL, says his operation already allows the banks to get involved in trading, using standardised contracts that his company Xpansiv has created in the past year. “We’re onboarding more customers in a month now than we were in 2018 in a year,” he says. His clients include banks, hedge funds, trading houses and big companies.