Quantifying Carbon Financial Risk in the International Greenhouse Gas Market: An Application Using Remotely-Sensed Data to Align Scientific Uncertainty with Financial Decisions

A common complaint about environmental policy is that regulations inadequately reflect scientific uncertainty and scientific consensus. While the causes of this phenomenon are complex and hard to discern, we know that corporations are the primary implementers of environmental regulations; therefore, focusing on how policy relates scientific knowledge to corporate decisions can provide valuable insights. Within the context of the developing international market for greenhouse gas emissions, I examine how corporations would apply finance theory into their investment decisions for carbon abatement projects. Using remotely-sensed ecosystem scale carbon flux measurements, I show how to determine much financial risk of carbon is diversifiable. I also discuss alternative, scientifically sound methods for hedging the non-diversifiable risks in carbon abatement projects. In providing a quantitative common language for scientific and corporate uncertainties, the concept of carbon financial risk provides an opportunity for expanding communication between these elements essential to successful climate policy.