Carbon market stakeholders are slowly moving beyond the zero-sum game of offsetting towards alternative ways of financing climate action. This positive development will make the existing market more robust, helping to shield it from reputational risks and environmental integrity scandals. Offsetting – paying someone else to reduce emissions instead of reducing one’s own – has…
New Year New Climate Momentum The private-sector task force, led by Mark Carney, has published its roadmap for “scaling up voluntary carbon markets”. More investments in climate action are, of course, more than welcome. But the task force should pay more attention to quality – instead of focusing on quantity. One striking omission in the new…
A reminder of the tricky issues of agreement on global carbon market rules in the context of ratcheting up climate ambition Raising ambition is the primordial task for governments ahead of and at the next UN climate conference. But it will also be essential to finally agree on the rules that will govern global carbon…
Relying on paying someone else to reduce emissions is risky and unsustainable. Therefore, private companies should stop “offsetting” and instead financially help poorer countries reach their climate targets and foster sustainable development. Voluntary carbon markets are booming as businesses across the world make climate-neutrality pledges. These plans often rely on the purchase of credits from…
Carbon Market Watch’s reaction to the publication of the report by the task force on scaling up voluntary carbon markets BRUSSELS 27 January 2021 The report of the “Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets” proposes the creation of updated quality criteria for carbon offsets and standardised reporting requirements but also leaves the door open for…
Guest article by Kirsten Sleven, Director, WISE As the first country in the world, the Netherlands is about to introduce a carbon tax on industrial pollution. The tax is part of a broader policy package (Dutch Climate Agreement) to stimulate major industrial polluters to ‘decarbonize’ their production processes and was drawn up in consultation with…
A carbon border adjustment measure can support a clean industrial transition globally if it’s designed properly and fairly. It must replace all current EU pollution handouts and its revenues must be used wisely to drive innovation and to provide climate finance to countries that most need it. The EU Commission is preparing the law to…
We joined the World Press Clubs Alliance for Climate launch event on Friday 23 October. Watch the interview with Sabine Frank here. Companies and governments are announcing “climate-neutrality” targets, and consumers are being offered ways to offset their carbon footprint. What does this mean in practice? How can we distinguish between real climate action and…
Companies are increasingly adopting “climate-neutrality” targets, which often include relying on forests to compensate for pollution. After yet another such offset project was swallowed by flames in California, unresolved questions about forest and land offsets resurface. It’s a simple tagline for green marketing campaigns: “Enjoy our product, it’s climate neutral”. While the tagline is simple,…
First published in ECA Journal 02/2020: Climate Change and Audit By Sabine Frank, Executive Director, Carbon Market Watch In a world that is increasingly feeling the consequences of climate change, the idea of polluters paying for their pollution makes more and more sense. The EU’s Emission Trading System (ETS) reflects exactly that thought and is…
Kaisa Amaral, Communications Director
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