Recommendations on forests in voluntary carbon markets

An NGO statement on forests in voluntary carbon markets Summary Forest protection and restoration is in urgent need of increased financial support, but cannot be used to offset fossil emissions Financial contributions should be directed at jurisdictional programs addressing deforestation and forest degradation, rather than stand-alone projects, as they provide incentives for improved land use …

Letter to not offset climate inaction with forests

This letter was sent to President of the European Commission von der Leyen, Executive Vice-President Timmermans, Commissioner Simson, Commissioner Sinkevičus , Minister Matos Fernandes, MEP Guteland and other Members of the European Parliament, and Members of Coreper II. Forest restoration must not offset climate inaction in the agriculture, energy, housing, industrial and transport sectors. Yesterday …

Carbon Market Watch response to Inception Impact Assessment on LULUCF Regulation

Carbon Market Watch (CMW) supports increasing the climate ambition of the LULUCF Regulation so it can promote climate action while providing much-needed co-benefits in other environmental fields (especially biodiversity and restoration of ecosystems). CMW also supports the feedback from Climate Action Network Europe and Fern. Read full response

Up in smoke – California fires once again highlight dangers of forest offsets 

Scroll down for French and Spanish 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 …

CLARA Briefing – Climate Action in the Land Sector: Treading carefully

This briefing, published by the Climate, Land, Ambition and Rights Alliance – CLARA –, has been endorsed by Carbon Market Watch. Executive Summary Climate action must be urgently scaled up to limit global warming. Action in the land sector is critical and necessary for achieving the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting planetary warming to 1.5° …

The cost of climate inaction in the agricultural sector

This week key policymakers of the European Parliament discuss the EU’s largest climate instrument. Ahead of the debate, five organizations expose how a loophole in the law could significantly increase the costs of post-2030 climate efforts by delaying the required emission reductions in the agriculture sector. The Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR) covers around 60% of …

Forests must not be used to undermine climate commitments

Forests and land-use remain a contentious issue in climate negotiations but are an essential part of many countries’ climate pledges. The sector should be used as an additional climate tool, not as an excuse to reduce ambition in others. At the UN climate conference in Marrakesh, discussions on land use remained gridlocked because of the …

NGOs tell environment ministers to beef up effort sharing ambition

On Monday 17 October, the EU environment ministers’ will discuss for the first time the national 2030 climate targets for the transport, agriculture, waste and buildings sectors. Ahead of the meeting, a group of 29 organisations urges ministers to close loopholes in the climate law that will determine how the Paris Agreement is put into action in Europe.