Insurance as the Missing Risk Layer in Climate Finance: Bilal Hussein, Co-Founder, Artio Carbon

Host: Alex Cameron, Founder & CEO, Decarb Connect
Guest: Bilal Hussain, Co-founder, Artio Carbon

Carbon markets have a credibility problem, and most of the proposed fixes sit on the same side of the transaction. Bilal Hussain is building on the other side. As co-founder of Artio Carbon, he's spent years assessing carbon projects from the inside, and what he found was a market where capital was circling projects it couldn't trust, and projects couldn't scale because no one would stand behind them. Insurance, done properly, solves that.

In this episode, Bilal walks through what underwriting a carbon project actually looks like, from biochar machines with 24-hour test histories to abandoned well projects where the leak has been visible for decades. He explains why execution and counterparty risk are the real questions insurers should be asking, not methodology quality, and what that distinction means for how climate finance moves from promise to delivery.

Key Takeaways

• Why better due diligence still isn't enough - what can insurance due diligence uncover that analysts sometimes miss?
• The one question that separates a financeable project from an unfundable one. It's not about credit quality or methodology - find out what insurers are actually asking, and why that question matters more than any ratings report.
• How to spot a project that will fail before it does. From unproven machines to developers promising 100% of expected output, Bilal walks through the specific red flags his team uses to walk away, and what good looks like by comparison.
• Why the projects landing on Artio's desk right now are the most investable they've ever been. If you've had a tough 12 months in the energy transition space, this perspective is worth hearing.
• What carbon tax regimes in Asia mean for your pipeline. CBAM is creating a downstream effect that most people haven't fully mapped yet - find out where the financing gap opens up and where insurance fits in.
• The deal structures where insurance changes the outcome. Not every buyer or developer needs the same product - find out who actually carries the risk in different transaction types, which changes who should be buying cover.
• What a mature carbon insurance market looks like, and how far away it is.

Links:

· Follow Alex Cameron on LinkedIn and find how to get involved with the membership and work of Decarb Connect

· Connect with Bilal Hussein, Co-Founder of Artio

· Artio at London Climate Week 2026: “Bridging the Disconnect” – connecting nature to finance and Step into the data

· Access Artio's recently published CORSIA Market Forecast 2026

· Join Alex and a network of hardtech investors and series B+ tech disruptors at Decarb TechInvest in Boston (September 2025)

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