AirCarbon Exchange (ACX)

This award recognises AirCarbon Exchange for building the regulated market infrastructure that turns carbon pricing from an abstract concept into verifiable, investable climate action. As the world’s first fully regulated spot carbon exchange, licensed by Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) – the first regulator to classify carbon credits as financial instruments – ACX provides institutional transparency across trading, clearing and custody. In 2025, its Brazilian subsidiary, ACX Brasil, enabled trading equivalent to five million tonnes of CO₂, with half of that volume transacted under the Rio de Janeiro City Hall’s ISS Neutral Program, a pioneering municipal policy that offers tax incentives for environmental commodity trading. The same year, the platform was recognised as a winner in the ‘sustainable finance solutions’ category at COP30’s Transition Finance & Investment event, cementing its role as a global reference for carbon market infrastructure.

By combining regulated exchange architecture with distributed‑ledger technology, ACX eliminates double‑counting, shortens settlement times and ensures that every credit can be traced from issuer to retirement. Its platform accepts credits certified under Verra, Gold Standard and other recognised registries, and supports CORSIA‑eligible aviation units, directly linking voluntary carbon markets to compliance obligations. With the UAE Carbon Alliance committed to purchasing hundreds of millions of dollars of high‑integrity credits by 2030, and a growing ecosystem of project developers, auditors and corporate buyers, ACX has demonstrated that transparent carbon pricing is not merely a theoretical instrument but a practical, scalable engine of decarbonisation.

For turning blockchain‑based trading into a trusted, regulated solution that accelerates global net‑zero investment, AirCarbon Exchange receives this recognition.

Score: 86

Reference: https://en.prefeitura.rio/cidade/bolsa-de-credito-de-carbono-no-rio-atinge-5-milhoes-de-toneladas-de-creditos-negociados/#content