A Conversation with Marco Hirsbrunner co-founder of Southpole

Episode 2 of Ground Truth by CarbonHQ. Listen now on Spotify & Apple Podcast.

When you’ve been in the carbon markets for 20 years, you’ve seen just about everything — from panda-protecting cookstove projects in Sichuan to failed boondoggles and regulatory collapses. In Episode 2 of Ground Truth, Allen sits down with Marco Hirsbrunner to trace his journey through the early days of voluntary carbon trading, the founding of South Pole, and now, his latest chapter at Terra Impact Ventures.

Marco’s carbon story began while doing civil service at MyClimate in Switzerland, where he was pulled in by the sheer practicality of carbon finance — a tool that transfers money from emitters in the Global North to impactful projects in the Global South. From there, he went on to co-found South Pole, building out operations in China, Vietnam, and Thailand, and eventually helping grow the company into a global leader with offices on six continents.

But what makes Marco’s story especially rich are the details from the field. He recounts his first visit to a WWF-backed project in rural Sichuan, where biogas systems were installed to reduce firewood use — not just saving emissions, but protecting the bamboo forests where wild pandas still roam. That sense of tangible, ground-level impact stuck with him. So did the memory of a neighboring farmer, so impressed with the system that he built one himself, completely unprompted.

Over the course of two decades, Marco and his team worked on over a thousand projects — spanning everything from REDD+ and biogas to smart heating and feed additives for cows. Despite that variety, he still believes in getting the fundamentals right: good data, strong local partnerships, and adherence to vetted methodologies.

But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. He recalls the collapse of the Kyoto Protocol market after the 2008 financial crisis and how South Pole had to pivot fast — shifting focus from compliance to voluntary markets, and investing in advisory services when credit prices tanked. It was a lesson in staying nimble, and in not taking regulatory stability for granted.

These days, Marco is focused on helping the next generation of sustainability startups through Terra Impact Ventures — an early-stage investor and advisor committed to biodiversity, climate, and practical solutions. He’s also the architect of carbonparadox.org, a site outlining 26 paradoxes that hold back the carbon market. From the “novelty paradox” (new, flashy tech gets funding despite being unproven) to the “polluter’s paradox” (where companies are criticized for offsetting even when reductions are out of reach), Marco argues that many criticisms of the market stem from a lack of understanding, not actual failure.

“Carbon markets aren’t perfect,” he says. “But they’ve delivered more climate impact per dollar than almost anything else. The issue is they’re too transparent — it’s easy to poke holes because the data is all public.”

So what makes a high-quality carbon project, in his view? Strong community co-benefits, rigorous monitoring, cost-efficiency, and a focus on real, verified impact — not just good PR. He urges project developers to get the basics right, tell human stories from the ground, and resist the temptation to chase headlines.

Looking ahead, Marco hopes the market evolves toward greater regulation and clarity — particularly through Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. But more than anything, he wants to see honest conversations, better storytelling, and smart capital allocation toward solutions that actually work.

To learn more about Marco’s work, check out carbonparadox.org and terra.global. And if you’re building tools to scale high-quality projects — like we are at CarbonHQ — let’s talk.

Listen to the full episode on Spotify or Apple Podcast.