Exploring the Market for Voluntary Carbon Offsets
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1 the Background for Carbon Finance and Carbon Credits
CHAPTER 1 THE BACKGROUND FOR CARBON FINANCE AND CARBON CREDITS THE LINK BETWEEN CLIMATE CHANGE, GHG EMISSIONS, AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY Climate change is one of the biggest threats we face. Everyday activities like driving a car or a motorbike, using air conditioning and/or heating and lighting houses consume energy and produce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), which contribute to climate change. When the emissions of GHGs are rising, the Earth’s climate is affected, the average weather changes and average temperatures increase. FIGURE 1 Sources of agricultural GHGs in megatons (Mt) CO2-eq 2128 1792 672 616 369 158 410 CO2 CO2 CH 413 CH4+ N2O 4 CO2 + N2O Irrigation N02 Farm Rice machinery Biomass production CH4 N0 +CH burning 2 4 Fertiliser production Nitrous oxide from fertilised soils + land conversion Manure to agriculture 5900 Mt CO2-eq Methane from cattle enteric fermentation Source: Greenpeace International, 2008. In agriculture and forestry different sources and sinks release, take up and store three types of GHGs: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). Many agricultural and forestry practices emit GHGs to the atmosphere. Figure 1 shows the main sources of agricultural GHGs: for example, by using fertilizers N2O is released from the soil and by burning agricultural residues CO2 levels rise. CH4 is set free in the digestion 1 ] process of livestock, as well as if rice is grown under flooded conditions. When land is converted to cropland and trees are felled, a source of CO2 emissions is created. Agriculture is an important contributor to climate change, but it also provides a sink and has the potential to lessen climate change. -
Ecological Restoration for Protected Areas Principles, Guidelines and Best Practices
Ecological Restoration for Protected Areas Principles, Guidelines and Best Practices Prepared by the IUCN WCPA Ecological Restoration Taskforce Karen Keenleyside, Nigel Dudley, Stephanie Cairns, Carol Hall and Sue Stolton, Editors Peter Valentine, Series Editor Developing capacity for a protected planet Best Practice Protected Area Guidelines Series No.18 IUCN WCPA’s BEST PRACTICE PROTECTED AREA GUIDELINES SERIES IUCN-WCPA’s Best Practice Protected Area Guidelines are the world’s authoritative resource for protected area managers. Involving collaboration among specialist practitioners dedicated to supporting better implementation in the field, they distil learning and advice drawn from across IUCN. Applied in the field, they are building institutional and individual capacity to manage protected area systems effectively, equitably and sustainably, and to cope with the myriad of challenges faced in practice. They also assist national governments, protected area agencies, non- governmental organisations, communities and private sector partners to meet their commitments and goals, and especially the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Programme of Work on Protected Areas. A full set of guidelines is available at: www.iucn.org/pa_guidelines Complementary resources are available at: www.cbd.int/protected/tools/ Contribute to developing capacity for a Protected Planet at: www.protectedplanet.net/ IUCN PROTECTED AREA DEFINITION, MANAGEMENT CATEGORIES AND GOVERNANCE TYPES IUCN defines a protected area as: A clearly defined geographical space, -
Japan's Assistance Initiatives to Address Climate Change
Japan’s Assistance Initiatives to Address Climate Change Responding to Needs of the Developing Countries -Table of Contents- I. Japan's Representative Examples of Contributions to the Implementation towards the Paris Agreement by developing countries, Taking Advantage of Its Strengths 1. Diffusion of Advanced Low-carbon Technologies via JCM, etc. 2. Enhancement of Adaptive Capacity through Sharing Knowledge and Experience 3. Improvement of Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) Capabilities through Human Resource Development That Will Lead to a Transparency Framework 4. Promotion of Building of a System for Comprehensive Measures for Controlling Emission of Fluorocarbons 5. Support for Sustainable Societies in Conjunction with measures addressing Climate Change II. Japan's Assistance Initiatives to address Climate Change (Annex) Introduction Japan has so far undertaken various international support activities based on its technologies and experience in the area of climate change. Japan will continue to develop and enhance them in accordance with each nation's needs. It is also important to deploy support activities effectively under international cooperation, when implementing the Paris Agreement. For this reason, Japan will participate in a number of international partnerships and initiatives including the NDC Partnership (which is planned to be launched at the COP22), and support the implementation of the Paris Agreement, which is a framework applicable to all parties, through cooperation and collaboration with research, support, and other organizations in and out of Japan. (Main Areas of Japanese Contribution) Mitigation: Diffusion of superior low-carbon-emission technologies Adaptation: Sharing of Japan's experience and cases Transparency: Human resource development for inventory enhancement, etc. Measures against fluorocarbons: Comprehensive measures for controlling emission of fluorocarbons SDGs: Support for sustainable societies I. -
State and Trends of the Carbon Market 2011
state and trends of the Washington DC, June 2011 2011 state and trends of the 2011 Environment Department This report was prepared by a World Bank team comprising of Nicholas Linacre, Alexandre Kossoy and Philippe Ambrosi, with important contributions from Manelle Aït Sahlia, Veronique Bishop, Benoît Bosquet, Christophe de Gouvello, Taisei Matsuki and Monali Ranade. 2 | State and Trends of the Carbon Market 2010 New Approach for the 2011 Report With the goal of providing a comprehensive discus- sion of the issues that most affected the carbon mar- ket in 2010, the authors of last year’s report have re- structured State and Trends of the Carbon Market for 2011. The report still provides an overview of the size and reach of the carbon markets, as well as the evolu- tion of the Kyoto flexibility mechanisms, and offers potential supply/demand scenarios for coming years. However, it no longer includes a detailed breakdown of carbon transactions, as in previous years. Instead, the report provides a more in-depth analytical dis- cussion of the regulation and policy issues that will guide future carbon market development. The findings and opinions expressed in this report are the sole responsibility of the authors and should not be cited without permission. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank Group, its Executive Directors, the countries they represent or of any of the participants in the carbon funds or facilities man- aged by the World Bank. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. This report is not intended to form the basis of an investment decision. -
Agricultural Soil Carbon Credits: Making Sense of Protocols for Carbon Sequestration and Net Greenhouse Gas Removals
Agricultural Soil Carbon Credits: Making sense of protocols for carbon sequestration and net greenhouse gas removals NATURAL CLIMATE SOLUTIONS About this report This synthesis is for federal and state We contacted each carbon registry and policymakers looking to shape public marketplace to ensure that details investments in climate mitigation presented in this report and through agricultural soil carbon credits, accompanying appendix are accurate. protocol developers, project developers This report does not address carbon and aggregators, buyers of credits and accounting outside of published others interested in learning about the protocols meant to generate verified landscape of soil carbon and net carbon credits. greenhouse gas measurement, reporting While not a focus of the report, we and verification protocols. We use the remain concerned that any end-use of term MRV broadly to encompass the carbon credits as an offset, without range of quantification activities, robust local pollution regulations, will structural considerations and perpetuate the historic and ongoing requirements intended to ensure the negative impacts of carbon trading on integrity of quantified credits. disadvantaged communities and Black, This report is based on careful review Indigenous and other communities of and synthesis of publicly available soil color. Carbon markets have enormous organic carbon MRV protocols published potential to incentivize and reward by nonprofit carbon registries and by climate progress, but markets must be private carbon crediting marketplaces. paired with a strong regulatory backing. Acknowledgements This report was supported through a gift Conservation Cropping Protocol; Miguel to Environmental Defense Fund from the Taboada who provided feedback on the High Meadows Foundation for post- FAO GSOC protocol; Radhika Moolgavkar doctoral fellowships and through the at Nori; Robin Rather, Jim Blackburn, Bezos Earth Fund. -
Forest Carbon to Offset Emissions from the EU Refining And/Or Road Transport Sector
Forest carbon to offset emissions from the EU refining and/or road transport sector Presentation for the 12th Concawe Symposium, March 2017 Prof. Dr Lars Hein Contents of the presentation .Rationale .Forest carbon and the carbon market .Recent developments .Criteria for purchasing offsets .Options to test offsetting in the refining and road transport sector Rationale . Changing regulatory and market environments provide a strong incentive to better understand options to reduce the sector’s CO2 footprint. Carbon credits including from forest carbon may be used to offset emissions from the EU refining and road transport sector. Carbon offsets may provide an option to cost-effectively enhance the environmental performance of road fuels. However understanding the technical, economic and policy environment is essential. The global carbon balance . Land based (LULUCF) emissions contribute around 1 + 0.5 Gton C/year to global CO2 emissions (period 2006- 2015) Forest carbon . Temperate and boreal zones: increases in carbon stocks over time due to expansion of the forest cover . Tropical zones: net emissions highest in the tropics, from land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) . Emissions from peat lands (marshes): ● Peat oxidation leads to an emission of around 0.3- 0.6 Gton C world-wide, most of this in the tropics. ● Peat fires add another 0.1 - 0.5 Gton C (El Niño effect). Peat lands in the Netherlands and Indonesia Forest carbon credit projects . Three types of forest carbon projects: ● Reforestation and afforestation (tree planting) ● Enhanced forest management (plus agroforestry) ● REDD : Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) (/REDD+) . REDD projects claim carbon credits from avoided deforestation (i.e. -
Ecocide: the Missing Crime Against Peace'
35 690 Initiative paper from Representative Van Raan: 'Ecocide: The missing crime against peace' No. 2 INITIATIVE PAPER 'The rules of our world are laws, and they can be changed. Laws can restrict, or they can enable. What matters is what they serve. Many of the laws in our world serve property - they are based on ownership. But imagine a law that has a higher moral authority… a law that puts people and planet first. Imagine a law that starts from first do no harm, that stops this dangerous game and takes us to a place of safety….' Polly Higgins, 2015 'We need to change the rules.' Greta Thunberg, 2019 Table of contents Summary 1 1. Introduction 3 2. The ineffectiveness of current legislation 7 3. The legal framework for ecocide law 14 4. Case study: West Papua 20 5. Conclusion 25 6. Financial section 26 7. Decision points 26 Appendix: The institutional history of ecocide 29 Summary Despite all our efforts, the future of our natural environments, habitats, and ecosystems does not look promising. Human activity has ensured that climate change continues to persist. Legal instruments are available to combat this unprecedented damage to the natural living environment, but these instruments have proven inadequate. With this paper, the initiator intends to set forth an innovative new legal concept. This paper is a study into the possibilities of turning this unprecedented destruction of our natural environment into a criminal offence. In this regard, we will use the term ecocide, defined as the extensive damage to or destruction of ecosystems through human activity. -
An Introduction to Carbon Markets
AN INTRODUCTION TO CARBON MARKETS IATA & IETA WORKSHOP, NAIROBI 14-15 FEBRUARY 2017 WWW.CLIMATECARE.ORG CLIMATECARE • Based in Nairobi, UK and India • Works with corporate and government partners to develop and implement their carbon management strategies • Develops carbon reduction projects, specialising in community energy access programmes that deliver sustainable development alongside emission reductions • IATA’s carbon offset partner for the IATA Voluntary Offset Program • Current Co-Chair of ICROA – the international voluntary carbon market industry alliance promoting best practices • Strategic Partners of Gold Standard for Global Goals WHAT IS A CARBON CREDIT? A carbon credit is a tradeable instrument which represents either: • A permit which gives the holder the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide or equivalent greenhouse gas (tCO2e) into the atmosphere or • A certificate from a project that represents the removal or avoidance of one 1 tCO2e from the atmosphere THE CARBON MARKETS As well as 2 distinct carbon credit types (Permits and Project-based credits), there are 2 distinct types of carbon market. Compliance Markets for carbon credits created by the need to comply with a regulatory act. In a Cap-and-Trade emissions reductions market, actors buy and sell carbon credits to comply with the cap or limit imposed on their emissions. Voluntary Carbon market that functions outside of compliance markets. Enabling businesses, governments, NGOs, and individuals to voluntarily offset their emissions by purchasing carbon credits. THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CARBON CREDITS Market Compliance Voluntary Credit Type Permits to Pollute Project- Based Emission Project-Based Reduction Credits Emission Reduction Credits Description A ‘certificate to pollute’ one A carbon credit of 1 tonne A carbon credit of 1 tonne of CO2e. -
Research Note March 2021 Opportunities at the Intersection of Carbon Markets and Agriculture
Research Note March 2021 Opportunities at the Intersection of Carbon Markets and Agriculture Increasing numbers of corporations and other organizations are making firm commitments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to help mitigate the pace of future climate change, some specifically targeting net-zero emissions over the next ten to twenty years. Reaching these targets will require reductions in both direct and indirect output of greenhouse gases related to their own operations as well as funding activities that will either reduce greenhouse emissions or directly capture and store carbon from the atmosphere through the purchase of carbon-credits or carbon-insets activities. The Science Based Targets initiative outlines the needed actions as primarily abatement (eliminating emissions in companies’ value chains), followed by neutralization (carbon removals within companies’ supply chains, referred to as carbon insets) and compensation (purchasing carbon offsets).1 The agricultural sector has significant potential to contribute to these neutralization and compensation climate- change mitigation efforts through operational practices that reduce the level of greenhouse gases per unit of production and/or boost the amount of carbon stored in farmland soils. Currently, market structures are quickly evolving to allow the creation, accounting, verification, marketing, sale, and transfer of Soils contain about 75% of the agricultural carbon credits. The development carbon stored on land, more of robust markets for farmland-based carbon than three times the amount credits will directly connect organizations contained in plants and animals. seeking natural climate solutions with climate change mitigating opportunities inherent in farming. Opening this new tier of climate-solution capital for farmland could help incentivize farmers to accelerate the shift to climate-positive operations and regenerative agricultural practices, and potentially create new revenue streams. -
Myclimate Annual Report 2007
2007 Preface Dear Readers, CO2 calculations for a varied range of activities and CO2 calculators for Last year, climate protection attracted intranet or web platforms, as well as widespread public attention, due not ‚climate training‘ for company emplo- least to the reports from the Intergo- yees. myclimate has also stepped up its vernmental Panel on Climate Change involvement in environmental educa- and the film by Al Gore. myclimate tion. Chairperson, Board of Trustees benefited from this heightened Dr. Rolf Jeker Read on to learn more about aware- awareness, managing to quadruple the Chairman, OSEC Business Network ness-raising work during the last year, CO2 offset volume at a stroke! This Switzerland such as the Climate Laboratory for marks a real success for the day-to-day apprentices in technical vocations, and efforts of the myclimate team. the triCO2lor simulation game. Looking at our carbon offset projects, The myclimate team has seen many myclimate was awarded the world‘s changes this year, with a new manage- first Kyoto Gold Standard certificates ment and an increase in the number of for its biomass project in Karnataka, employees. New international partners India. Heavy customer demand meant for sales of myclimate offset products that further projects could be added to have also joined us in Canada and the portfolio: a solar cooker project in Austria. rural North China, and wind projects in Chairperson of the Association Turkey and New Zealand. Whether you are a customer, partner, Dr. Sabine Perch-Nielsen member or sponsor, it is you who make Holder of an Academic Political Scholarship An evaluation by Tufts University of myclimate‘s successes possible. -
Forest Carbon Credits a Guidebook to Selling Your Credits on the Carbon Market
Forest Carbon Credits A Guidebook To Selling Your Credits On The Carbon Market Students of Research for Environmental Agencies and Organizations, Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Commonwealth of Massachusetts Robert O’Connor, Director, Division of Conservation Services Kurt Gaertner, Land Policy and Planning Director 1 March 2018 Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 3 A Comparison of Voluntary and Mandatory Systems …................................................................. 4 Developing Your Project ………............................................................................................................... 5 Choosing An Offset Project Type .......................................................................................... 5 Registering Your Carbon Credits ........................................................................................... 6 Verified Carbon Standard ………................................................................................. 7 American Carbon Registry …..................................................................................... 9 Climate Action Reserve .............................................................................................. 11 Clean Development Mechanism ............................................................................. 13 Gold Standard -
A Review of Offset Programs: Trading Systems, Funds, Protocols, Standards and Retailers
Research Report, Stockholm Environment Institute, 2008 A Review of Offset Programs: Trading Systems, Funds, Protocols, Standards and Retailers Anja Kollmuss, Michael Lazarus, Carrie Lee and Clifford Polycarp A Review of Offset Programs: Trading Systems, Funds, Protocols, Standards and Retailers Version 1.1* October 2008 Anja Kollmuss, Michael Lazarus, Carrie Lee and Clifford Polycarp * Version 1.0 of this report was prepared under contract to the Climate Change Division of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (68-W-06-010), under the guidance and support of Maurice LeFranc, with management assistance by Heidi Nelson-Ries at Stratus Consulting, Inc. Version 1.1 is the SEI research report version, which contains some small editorial revisions. The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors. This report does not represent the views of the United States Government or of the US Environmental Protection Agency. Stockholm Environment Institute Kräftriket 2B 106 91 Stockholm Sweden Tel: +46 8 674 7070 Fax: +46 8 674 7020 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.sei.se Publications Manager: Erik Willis Web Manager: Howard Cambridge Layout: Richard Clay Cover photo: © R.Clay/SEI This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes, without special permission from the copyright holder(s) provided acknowledgement of the source is made. No use of this publication may be made for resale or other commercial purpose, without the written permission of the copyright