As the energy transition accelerates, corporations, utilities and governments are seeking credible ways to procure and account for renewable electricity around the world. Yet while compliance REC systems are well established in markets such as the United States and Europe, many countries do not have domestic renewable energy certificate programmes – or the market infrastructure needed to verify, track and transact clean electricity attributes.
This is where the International Renewable Energy Certificate (I-REC) system plays an increasingly pivotal role. Overseen by the International Tracking Standard Foundation (I-TRACK Foundation), I-RECs provide a transparent, internationally recognised method for documenting renewable energy generation and enabling market-based procurement in emerging and developing energy markets. Today, I-RECs are issued in more than 60 countries and support both multinational corporate sustainability strategies and local market development.
But while the certificates themselves are international, the market dynamics are distinctly local.
Local Markets with Unique Characteristics
Each I-REC market evolves according to local regulatory priorities, energy mix, grid structure and procurement demand. For example:
In Latin America, I-RECs often support corporate and industrial decarbonisation in grids still reliant on fossil generation.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, I-REC programmes help developers secure additional revenue streams that make renewable projects financeable.
In Southeast Asia, multinational companies use I-RECs to harmonise sustainability reporting across countries with varying regulatory frameworks.
Demand is not uniform – and neither is supply. This local variation is precisely what gives I-REC markets their value and complexity. Market participants must navigate price differences, varied project documentation requirements, evolving oversight models and differences in market liquidity.
As the volume of I-REC issuance grows, so does the need for trusted market data, standardised trade infrastructure and transparent pricing – core functions traditionally provided by organised exchanges.
Why Exchanges Matter in I-REC Markets
Environmental markets follow a familiar pattern: as participation broadens and transaction volume increases, markets benefit from the introduction of standardised contracts, central clearing and neutral price benchmarks. These features have underpinned the maturation of commodities markets for decades – from power to gas to carbon.
In the I-REC ecosystem, exchanges can play several critical roles:
Establishing transparent price discovery
Because supply and demand conditions vary by geography, transparent exchange-based trading supports credible price signals that reflect real regional market fundamentals. This transparency is essential for corporate procurement strategies, risk management and long-term contracting.
Supporting market integrity and compliance
Exchange trade workflows – when linked directly to issuance and tracking registries – can reduce the operational and settlement risks associated with bilateral trading. This enhances trust in the underlying environmental claims supported by the certificates.
Improving market accessibility
For many energy developers and commercial buyers, exchanges can serve as an accessible entry point into environmental markets, lowering barriers to participation and enabling new liquidity.
Enabling portfolio-level decarbonisation
Multinational corporations increasingly manage multi-region renewable procurement programmes. Exchange infrastructure helps unify procurement strategies across countries while preserving the local character and environmental integrity of each certificate.
The Equity Exchange Opportunity
Equity exchanges – many of which already maintain central roles in their national capital markets – are uniquely positioned to support the development of domestic environmental commodity markets, including I-RECs.
Their advantages include:
Established regulatory oversight and governance frameworks
Deep relationships with domestic power producers and financial institutions
Technology platforms that can be extended to environmental instruments
Market-convening power to foster liquidity and trust
By partnering with registry operators, market infrastructure providers and policy stakeholders, equity exchanges can facilitate the growth of domestic renewable certificate markets that align with international best practices while supporting local development goals.
In some regions, exchanges may choose to list I-REC contracts directly; in others, they may support hybrid models that blend local REC systems with I-REC bridging mechanisms. The key is enabling interoperability without compromising market integrity.
Driving the Next Wave of Renewable Market Growth
The global energy transition is not just a matter of building renewable infrastructure – it requires the market infrastructure to recognise, value and transact clean energy attributes reliably. I-RECs are helping to unlock renewable investment in markets where traditional compliance programmes do not yet exist, ensuring that global decarbonisation does not leave emerging economies behind.
By embracing their role as trusted market conveners, exchanges have an important opportunity: to help shape transparent, accessible and credible renewable markets that reflect both global climate goals and local energy realities.
The result is a system where environmental markets can scale not only broadly and rapidly – but fairly.