Every mature, deep financial market rests on a thin layer of foundational infrastructure that performs the same basic functions: an authoritative record of title, settlement finality, common identifiers, and a common way to convey information between institutions. Equities have it. Bonds have it. Foreign exchange has it. The specific institutions differ, but the layer is always there, and it always does the same few things.

Carbon markets, for the most part, lack this layer.