- BeZero Carbon, the global carbon ratings agency, announces a US$32 million Series C led by GenZero, with additional funding from the Japan Airlines and Translink Innovation Fund.
- The fundraise demonstrates investor confidence in the integral role of independent carbon ratings as critical market infrastructure for a net zero world.
- The new funds will be used to invest in expanding BeZero’s ratings coverage of domestic and sovereign compliance markets, as well as CORSIA.
London – 16 January, 2025 – Global carbon ratings agency BeZero Carbon today announces a US$32 million Series C investment round to enable carbon markets through ratings.
The round is led by Temasek-founded GenZero, a decarbonisation-focused global investment firm headquartered in Singapore, with additional investment from the Japan Airlines and Translink Innovation Fund. Existing investors EDF Pulse Ventures, Hitachi Ventures, Illuminate Financial, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), Molten Ventures, Qima, and Quantum Innovation Fund also committed fresh capital.
The fundraise cements the role of independent, risk-based, project-level ratings as a measure of quality for carbon markets. When BeZero first launched its ratings platform in 2022 there was no correlation between the climate impact of a carbon project and the price of a carbon credit. Now, in 2025, every incremental BeZero Carbon Rating notch on BeZero’s 8-point rating scale commands an average 40% price premium.
BeZero has customers in over 30 countries across six continents, with ratings available on more than 40 platforms including Bloomberg. The BeZero Carbon Markets platform, which enables users to access ratings, data, and scientific analysis for over 480 carbon credit projects, has more than 100 corporate subscribers globally, including UBS, Sumitomo, Emirates NDB, Equinor, Woodside Energy, and ERM.
A US$100 billion carbon market would support 17 million jobs globally, larger than the current oil and gas industry, and channel US$700 billion annually into climate action.
Beyond major corporations, an increasing number of countries, international organisations, such as the European Union and United Nations, and industry initiatives, such as the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), are looking to carbon markets to reach net zero.
BeZero will be investing the new funds in expanding its ratings coverage for these markets, which together will help channel finance into the climate projects necessary for a sustainable future.
In addition, BeZero will continue investing in automation, including the application of Artificial Intelligence techniques, and its expert team of climate and data scientists to deliver ratings, data, and risk analytics at scale.
BeZero is headquartered in London. It has subsidiaries in global financial hubs New York and Singapore. BeZero’s co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer, Sebastien Cross, has relocated to Singapore for the coming months.
Tommy Ricketts, CEO and co-founder of BeZero Carbon, said: “Securing a Series C in the current climate is a huge vote of confidence in our brilliant team and independent carbon ratings. We wouldn’t be where we are today without the support of our fantastic customers who now more than ever rely on our ratings. The funds will allow us to sustain our pace of innovation and expand our ratings coverage to compliance carbon markets, such as Article 6 and CORSIA, and the voluntary carbon market.”
Sebastien Cross, Chief Innovation Officer and co-founder of BeZero Carbon, said: “We are immensely grateful to our investors, clients, and partners who have joined us on our journey to date. Our ratings are quickly becoming a key part of global carbon market infrastructure and their use continues to grow as market participants seek solutions to bolster integrity. I’m extremely proud of the role they are playing in shaping the market as it matures. Singapore is a world leader in innovating and nurturing carbon markets. I’m excited to be based here over the next few months to cement our presence here and in the broader region.”
Frederick Teo, CEO of GenZero, said: “Carbon ratings play a pivotal role in ensuring integrity and transparency in carbon markets by providing independent, standardised assessments of quality. By leveraging data, internal scientific expertise and methodological insights to analyse carbon projects, BeZero’s work will foster greater confidence in carbon markets, and catalyse more capital and demand. We welcome BeZero’s presence in Singapore as we develop a global carbon ecosystem here and are excited to work together to build the critical infrastructure required for carbon markets to have impact at scale.”
Takao Suzuki, Executive Officer, Senior Vice President – Innovation at Japan Airlines, said: “We are actively implementing a range of emission reduction strategies, including upgrading to fuel-efficient aircraft, utilising Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), participating in carbon credit trading, and adopting innovative technologies that contribute to society-wide CO2 reduction. We believe BeZero’s carbon ratings enhance the transparency and reliability of the carbon market, attracting greater capital and broader participation while playing a pivotal role in the CORSIA market. Through our collaboration with BeZero, we aim to foster the development of a robust carbon ecosystem and accelerate our progress toward achieving net-zero CO2 emissions.”
Minister for Investment Baroness Gustafsson OBE said: “This investment is a huge vote of confidence in the UK’s innovative green tech industries, and is exactly the kind we want to see as we grow the economy and transition to net zero.”
Julien Villeret, Chief Innovation Officer of EDF, said: “BeZero’s remarkable growth and product diversification have strongly validated our initial investment decision in 2023. Their expanding customer portfolio and innovative offerings underscore the critical role of transparent, high-integrity carbon markets in shaping a net-zero future. This compelling progress motivated our participation in the latest funding round, as we remain committed to supporting solutions that accelerate global decarbonization efforts.”
About BeZero Carbon
BeZero Carbon is the carbon ratings agency. Its ratings and risk products equip world-leading organisations with the knowledge, tools and confidence to make better climate decisions. It aims to scale investment in environmental markets that deliver a sustainable future.
Visit bezerocarbon.com and follow BeZero on LinkedIn and X to learn more.
About GenZero
GenZero is an investment platform company focused on accelerating decarbonisation globally. Founded by Temasek, it seeks to deliver positive climate impact alongside long-term sustainable financial returns by investing in opportunities with the potential to be nurtured into impactful and scalable solutions.
Driven by a common purpose to decarbonise for future generations, GenZero recognises the need for a holistic and integrated approach to achieve a net zero world. It adopts a flexible investment approach across three focus areas to drive climate impact: (i) nature-based solutions that help protect and restore natural ecosystems while benefiting local communities and biodiversity; (ii) technology-based solutions that deliver deep decarbonisation impact; and (iii) carbon ecosystem enablers that support the scaling of carbon markets and enable broader industry decarbonisation.
For more information on GenZero, visit https://www.genzero.co.
About Japan Airlines and Translink Innovation Fund
Japan Airlines and Translink Innovation Fund is a strategic fund with a structure of Translink Capital as a GP and Japan Airlines as an LP. Its objective is to drive innovation in the airline business.
Japan Airlines (JAL), Japan’s first private aviation company, was established in 1951 and is a member of the oneworld® Alliance. The airline operates a fleet of 227 aircraft (as of March 2024) and began renewing its international long-haul aircraft with the Airbus A350-1000 starting 2023 Winter Schedule. Together with other JAL Group and partner airlines, JAL offers an extensive domestic and international network that serves 384 airports across 64 countries/regions. The airline has received numerous accolades for its exceptional service, including being recognized as a certified 5-Star Airline by Skytrax and being awarded the prestigious “World Class” Airline title by APEX, the Airline Passenger Experience Association. The airline is dedicated to ensuring the highest standards of flight safety and overall service quality, striving to be the most preferred airline by customers worldwide.
Translink Capital invests mainly in early-stage startups across the globe that enable disruptive technologies and business models. Those startups can go through accelerated growth by benefiting from the firm’s long-standing relationships with leading global technology, Internet, electronics, telecommunications, financial services and mobility corporations based in Greater China, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia.
