Protecting One of the World’s Most Distinctive and Valuable Forests

What are mangrove forests?

Mangrove forests are unique and distinct. They are found around tropical and subtropical shorelines and thrive in those salty waters, where other trees cannot survive. Their thick prop roots are twisted and complex, making them appear to stand above the water. Their roots also slow down water flow and allow sediment to collect. Because of these characteristics, mangrove forests are natural protectors and providers. They stabilize coastlines, reduce erosion and provide critical habitat for organisms.

Why are they critical to addressing climate change?

Mangrove forests are excellent at storing carbon. And, actually, they are among the most carbon-dense ecosystems and can sequester four times more carbon than rainforests. Much of the carbon is stored in the soil collected beneath the mangrove trees.

Additionally, mangrove forests are critical for protecting against the current impacts of climate change by stabilizing coastlines and reducing erosion from storms, currents and tides.

What threats do mangrove forests face?

Unfortunately, numerous issues are facing the world’s critical mangrove forests. In fact, the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) describes mangroves as “among the most threatened habitats in the world.” Less than 50 percent of the world’s mangrove forests were intact at the end of the 20th century, and of those that remain, half are in poor condition.

Forces threatening mangrove forests include:

The conversion of wetland areas to artificial ponds by the aquaculture industry. Water is diverted away from the mangrove forests and waters are contaminated by chemicals, antibiotics and organic waste.
The conversion and destruction of mangrove forests for agricultural use.
The displacement of and damage to mangrove forests for coastal development of ports, docks, buildings, golf courses and marinas.
The logging of mangrove forests by charcoal and lumber industries.
Extreme weather, warmer air and water temperatures, increasing variability and intensity of rainfall, ocean salinity and other impacts caused by climate change.
Irresponsible tourism.

The Climate Action Reserve recently registered the first mangrove offset project under its program and the first of its kind in Mexico. What are the project details?

The Manglares San Crisanto/San Crisanto Mangroves project was registered with the Climate Action Reserve under the Mexico Forest Protocol v1.5. The project is the first of its kind in Mexico. It includes three reporting periods, and 10,368 CRTs were issued. An estimated 47,908 tonnes CO2 have been removed by the project.

The Reserve’s Mexico Forest Protocol encourages the protection, improved management and restoration of mangrove forests through the issuance of offset credits for additional emissions sequestration activities above the baseline. Communities following the protocol receive economic incentives and resources to ensure that these coastal ecosystems provide greater benefits for surrounding communities and biodiversity, build greater resilience to the impacts of climate change and store more carbon to benefit the global climate.

What is the significance of the San Crisanto Mangroves project?

It’s important to reiterate that the San Crisanto Mangroves project is the first of its kind in Mexico and also the first mangrove project registered with the Climate Action Reserve. The project is pioneering and demonstrates the ability of mangrove forests to become viable offset projects and support local communities.

For the San Crisanto community, the mangrove forest is central to the ejido and the community members’ way of life, which is deeply connected to the mangrove through fishing, coconut plantation, salt production, protection of native animals and sustainable tourism. Prior to developing the project, the community had lost waterflow to the mangrove forest, which resulted in the loss of fish, birds and biodiversity and the area was immensely deteriorated. While developing the project, the community realized that if the mangrove forest didn’t exist, their community wouldn’t exist. Their offset project provides them with continuity to their way of life.

Who might develop a mangrove offset project under the Climate Action Reserve’s Mexico Forest Protocol?

Mexican coastal communities needing support to preserve their mangrove forests.

For additional information and insights, check out our Carbon Connection podcast episode on mangroves and our infographic on the benefits of mangrove projects.

Keeping it 100 – Permanence in Carbon Offset Programs

By Jennifer Weiss, Vice President, Communications and Business Outreach, Climate Action Reserve

(originally posted on CaliforniaCarbon.info) (read in Spanish)

Permanence is a key tenet of carbon offset programs. In order for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions to earn offset credits and have value in the carbon markets, the GHGs must be permanently reduced or sequestered. Permanence is defined as providing lasting benefits to the environment. For high quality offsets, permanence is defined as at least 100 years of GHG reduction or sequestration.

GHGs have different heat-absorbing abilities and stay in the atmosphere for different lengths of time. Global Warming Potential (GWP) is a value that compares the heat-absorbing ability of GHGs relative to that of carbon dioxide. The IPCC calculates GWPs for GHG inventory purposes over several timeframes, with most policy applications using a 100-yr timeframe where values can range from 25 – 22,800 times that of carbon dioxide. High quality offset standards calculate carbon crediting utilizing a 100-year GWP. Therefore, allowing any program to subsequently protect the sequestered carbon for something less than 100 years is equivalent to awarding 100 years’ worth of climate benefits without a corresponding requirement to actually deliver 100 years’ worth of climate benefits.

Ensuring 100-year permanence in GHG reduction and sequestration projects

For GHG reduction and/or destruction projects, permanence is achieved through the installation and operation of technologies that enable the collection and destruction of GHGs. For example, methane collection and combustion systems at landfills consist of wells, pipes, blowers, caps and other technologies that enable or enhance the collection of landfill gas and convey it to a destruction technology, such as flares, turbines, reciprocating engines, fuel cells, boilers, heaters, or kilns, that permanently destroys the captured methane.

For sequestration-based GHG reduction projects, 100-year permanence is achieved by ensuring that the carbon associated with credited GHG projects remains stored for at least 100 years. Examples of nature-based sequestration projects include forest offset projects, in which trees are planted and/or managed to increase absorption of CO2 from the atmosphere and carbon storage in their biomass, and soil enrichment projects, in which soils gain carbon through the decomposition of newly added carbononaceous materials.

Nature-based sequestration projects face the potential for reversals if stored carbon is released back to the atmosphere. Unavoidable reversals result from uncontrollable natural agents such as fire, insects, disease outbreaks, and wind. Avoidable reversals result from controllable agents or human activities such as land conversion and over-harvesting.

In order to ensure the 100-year permanence of nature-based sequestration projects, the Reserve employs three mechanisms: (1) requiring projects to monitor and verify onsite carbon stocks for a period of 100 years following the issuance of any offsets. For example, if CRTs are issued to a forest project in year 99 following its start date, monitoring and verification activities must be maintained until year 199. (2) Requiring all Project Operators to sign a Project Implementation Agreement with the Reserve, which obligates Project Operators to retire CRTs to compensate for reversals of GHG reductions and removals. (3) Requiring contribution to a Buffer Pool to provide insurance against reversals of GHG reductions and removals due to unavoidable causes.

Two accounting approaches to 100-year permanence: tonne-tonne accounting and tonne-year accounting

The Reserve employs two accounting approaches to achieving 100-year permanence:

Use tonne-tonne accounting (TTA) for any nature-based offset projects willing to commit to a 100-year permanence requirement. Under tonne-tonne accounting, a credit is issued for every additional tonne of GHG emissions that is sequestered permanently (defined as a period of 100 years) with required long-term monitoring during that timeframe.

The common critique of this approach is that it is unrealistic and cannot be implemented at the scale needed, but 85% of the offset credits used in the California compliance market come from forestry projects that require a 100-year commitment, demonstrating that this approach is both technically correct and feasible at scale.
Use tonne-year accounting (TYA) for any nature-based offset projects that utilize a permanence requirement of less than 100 years. TYA accounting essentially awards a pro-rated share of carbon credits for each successive year that carbon is sequestered. To over-simplify for illustrative purposes, under tonne-year accounting when employing 100-year GWPs for calculating environmental benefits, for each incremental year of successful carbon sequestration, the project would receive 1/100th of the environmental value. TYA assumes that for each year a tonne remains sequestered, 1/100th of the 100-year climate benefit is achieved and credits are awarded at a rate of one percent per tonne per year for the crediting period.

Whether employing tonne-tonne accounting or tonne-year accounting, GHG reductions and sequestration must rely on a 100-year timeframe in order for the market to be confident permanence is appropriately being safeguarded and for credibility when utilizing 100-year GWPs to calculate carbon crediting.

Mantenlo a 100 – Permanencia en los programas de créditos de compensación de carbono

Por Jennifer Weiss, Vicepresidenta, Comunicaciones y Alcance Comercial, Reserva de Acción Climática

La permanencia se define como la aportación de beneficios duraderos al medio ambiente y es un principio clave de los programas de compensación de carbono, con el fin de que las reducciones de emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) obtengan créditos de compensación y tengan valor en los mercados de carbono los GEI deben reducirse o secuestrarse de forma permanente según su definición. En el caso de las compensaciones de alta calidad, la permanencia se define como un mínimo de 100 años de reducción o secuestro de GEI.

Los GEI tienen diferentes capacidades de absorción de calor y permanecen en la atmósfera durante diferentes periodos de tiempo. El Potencial de Calentamiento Global (PCG) mide los efectos relativos de calentamiento global que diferentes gases ejercen sobre la Tierra y compara la capacidad de absorción de calor de los GEI con la del dióxido de carbono.

El Grupo Intergubernamental de Expertos sobre el Cambio Climático (IPCC) calcula los PCG para los inventarios de GEI en diferentes plazos, siento un plazo de 100 años el que la mayoría de las propuestas políticas utiliza y el cual los valores de los GEI pueden oscilar entre 25 y 22.800 veces el del dióxido de carbono. Para el caso de las normas de compensación de alta calidad los créditos de carbono son calculados utilizando un PCG a un plazo 100 años; o dicho de otra manera, permitir que cualquier programa proteja de manera posterior el carbono secuestrado durante un plazo menor de 100 años equivale a conceder beneficios climáticos sin el correspondiente requerimiento de proporcionar beneficios climáticos reales por un valor de 100 años.

Garantizar la permanencia de 100 años en los proyectos de reducción y secuestro de GEI

En el caso de los proyectos de reducción y/o destrucción de GEI, la permanencia se consigue mediante la instalación y funcionamiento de tecnologías que permiten la recolección y destrucción de los GEI. Por ejemplo, los sistemas de recolección y combustión de metano en Rellenos Sanitarios consisten en pozos, tuberías, sopladores y otras tecnologías que permiten o mejoran la recolección del gas de los Rellenos Sanitarios y lo transportan a una tecnología de destrucción, como antorchas, turbinas, motores alternativos, pilas de combustible, calderas, calentadores u hornos, que destruyen permanentemente el metano capturado.

En el caso de los proyectos de reducción de GEI basados en el secuestro de carbono, la permanencia de 100 años se consigue asegurando que el carbono asociado a los proyectos de GEI acreditados permanezca almacenado durante al menos 100 años. Algunos ejemplos de proyectos de secuestro basados en la naturaleza son los proyectos de compensación forestal, en los que se plantan y/o gestionan árboles para aumentar la absorción de CO2 de la atmósfera y el almacenamiento de carbono en su biomasa, y los proyectos de enriquecimiento del suelo, en los que los suelos ganan carbono a través de la descomposición de nuevos materiales carbononáceos añadidos.

Los proyectos de secuestro basados en la naturaleza se enfrentan a la posibilidad de que se produzcan reversiones inevitables y/o reverciones evitables, si el carbono almacenado se libera de nuevo a la atmósfera. Las reversiones inevitables que son el resultado de agentes naturales incontrolables como el fuego, los insectos, los brotes de enfermedades y el viento y las reversiones evitables que son el resultado de agentes controlables o de actividades humanas como la conversión de tierras y la sobreexplotación.

Para garantizar la permanencia de 100 años de los proyectos de secuestro basados en la naturaleza, la Reserva emplea tres mecanismos: (1) Requerir que los proyectos controlen y verifiquen las reservas de carbono in situ durante un periodo de 100 años tras la emisión de cualquier compensación. Por ejemplo, si se emiten una Tonelada de la Reserva de Acción Climática por sus siglas en inglés (CTR) a un proyecto forestal en el año 99 tras su fecha de inicio, las actividades de seguimiento y verificación deben mantenerse hasta el año 199. (2) Requerir que todos los operadores de proyectos firmen un acuerdo de implementación de proyectos con la Reserva, que obligue a los operadores de proyectos a retirar CRTs para compensar las reversiones de las reducciones y remociones de GEI. (3) Requerir la contribución a un Fondo de Aseguramiento para proporcionar un seguro contra las reversiones de las reducciones y remociones de GEI debidas a causas inevitables.

Dos enfoques contables para la permanencia de 100 años: la contabilidad por toneladas y la contabilidad por toneladas-año

La Reserva emplea dos enfoques contables para lograr la permanencia de 100 años:

Utilizar la contabilidad por toneladas, por sus siglas en inglés (TTA) para cualquier proyecto de compensación basado en la naturaleza que esté dispuesto a comprometerse con un requisito de permanencia de 100 años.
Con la contabilidad por toneladas, se emite un crédito por cada tonelada adicional de emisiones de GEI que se secuestra de forma permanente (definida como un periodo de 100 años) con el seguimiento a largo plazo requerido durante ese periodo.

La crítica habitual a este enfoque es que no es realista y no puede aplicarse a la escala necesaria, pero el 85% de los créditos de compensación utilizados en el mercado de cumplimiento de California proceden de proyectos forestales que requieren un compromiso de 100 años, lo que demuestra que este enfoque es técnicamente correcto y factible a escala.
Utilizar la contabilidad por toneladas-año, por sus siglas en inglés (TYA) para cualquier proyecto de compensación basado en la naturaleza que requiera una permanencia inferior a 100 años.
La contabilidad por toneladas-año concede esencialmente una parte prorrateada de los créditos de carbono por cada año sucesivo en que se secuestra el carbono. Simplificando en exceso a efectos ilustrativos, según la contabilidad por toneladas-año cuando se emplean PCA de 100 años para calcular los beneficios medioambientales, por cada año incremental de secuestro de carbono con éxito, el proyecto recibiría una centésima parte del valor medioambiental. La TYA asume que por cada año que una tonelada permanece secuestrada, se consigue una centésima parte del beneficio climático de 100 años y los créditos se conceden a un ritmo del uno por ciento por tonelada al año durante el periodo de acreditación.

Tanto si se emplea la contabilidad por toneladas como la contabilidad por toneladas-año, las reducciones y el secuestro de GEI deben basarse en un marco temporal de 100 años para que el mercado esté seguro de que la permanencia está debidamente salvaguardada y para que haya credibilidad cuando se utilicen PCA de 100 años para calcular los créditos de carbono.

The Importance of Being Additional

By Jennifer Weiss, Vice President, Communications and Business Outreach, Climate Action Reserve

(originally posted on CaliforniaCarbon.info) (read in Spanish)

In order for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions to earn offset credits, the GHG reductions must be real (have actually occurred), permanent (provide lasting benefits to the environment, often defined as 100-years of sequestration or reduction), verified (reductions are confirmed by an independent, accredited third party), enforceable (reductions are subject to penalties for non-compliance and reversal), and additional (reductions occurred because of the incentives associated with the carbon market and are above business as usual practices).

Additionality is a key tenet of a carbon offset project. Carbon offsets represent GHG reductions that have been achieved through voluntary implementation as a result of the financial incentives provided by the carbon market. By requiring that offsets are not generated for GHG reductions that would have occurred anyway and issued only for activities above business as usual, additionality provides value and credibility to carbon offsets and carbon markets.

So how can additionality be determined?

Performance standard vs individual project financial analysis

The Reserve employs the performance standard threshold to assess project additionality. Under the performance standard approach, research is conducted up front to determine common practice and activities above common practice. GHG reduction activities that fall within the “business as usual” class are presumed to be financially viable without access to GHG credits, meaning they are not additional. GHG reduction activities above and beyond business as usual activities are presumed to be additional. Benefits of employing a performance standard for offset programs include:

More streamlined, objective, and efficient: The development of a performance threshold is a data intensive endeavor, but once the threshold is established it provides a more streamlined, objective, and efficient means for determining project additionality than the financial examination of individual projects. If a project engages in GHG reduction activities pre-determined to be above business as usual, then the project is additional.
Rigorous, transparent, multi-stakeholder approach involving the public: Reserve protocols are developed under a rigorous, transparent, public, regulatory-quality process involving extensive research, multi-stakeholder workgroups, and public comment periods. The Reserve works with stakeholders to identify activities that achieve GHG reductions within a sector, research common practice, conduct field interviews regarding opportunities and obstacles for the GHG reduction activities, engage with scientists and thought-leaders regarding best available technologies and best environmental practices, and analyze existing and anticipated regulatory and legislative requirements to determine the business as usual or baseline conditions.

Project-level financial additionality assessments may seem like a valuable barrier analysis for proving the additionality of projects; in practice, requiring such assessments is counter-productive, for the following reasons:

Sensitive to assumptions: The practice of project level financial additionality assessments is subject to numerous assumptions by the project developer that can lead to different conclusions. Assumptions include variables such as capital costs, operation and maintenance costs, energy costs, inflation rates, targeted rates of return, perceived value of any credits, etc. Financial analysis of any potential project can be extremely sensitive to such assumptions.

Rigorous financial analysis of any potential investment typically involves the development of a wide variety of sensitivity analyses that vary key assumptions to understand the risks underpinning any investment. Deciding which sensitivity analysis to select as one’s primary case is an art, not a science.
Administrative burden without benefits: Carbon offset programs that rely on financial examination of individual projects face a significant administrative burden for no tangible environmental benefit, thereby making participation in carbon markets even more inaccessible for the critical projects that sorely need carbon finance.
Market barriers, including lack of funding: A stark reality of climate mitigation is the fact that there are many market barriers to investing in high-quality projects, even if a project may appear economically viable in its own right. One of these well-documented barriers is lack of access to capital. There are trillions of dollars needed to bring these projects to fruition and international climate goals will not be reached if this significant group of projects is discouraged from climate finance.
Could still have questionable results: Specification of individual project level financial additionality was initially the primary requirement for any projects under the CDM. For a variety of reasons, there was enormous pushback from many quarters regarding the unworkability and unreasonableness of a project-level financial additionality standard. Throughout the CDM’s history there were numerous examples of the individual project level financial additionality requirement leading to questionable results.

The Climate Action Reserve has taken a standardized baseline approach to development of our protocols to address the question of financial additionality and take this aspect of project development out of the hands of project developers, who may have the incentive to select the financial scenario that best supports maximizing the quantity of credits (or receiving any credits at all). Our high quality credits represent the credibility, value, and efficiency of setting a high quality performance standard for GHG reduction activities.

When considering offsets and the processes under which they were developed and issued, it’s critical to look at the level of additionality and the method used to determine the additionality. Offset credits that are not additional are not true offset credits.

La importancia de la adicionalidad

Por Jennifer Weiss, Vicepresidenta, Comunicaciones y Alcance Comercial, Reserva de Acción Climática

Existen diversos principios que dotan de integridad a los programas de compensación de emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI). En este aspecto, para que las reducciones de GEI generen créditos de compensación, estos deben proporcionar reducciones de GEI reales (garantizar que las reducciones de emisiones realmente ocurran), permanentes (proporcionar beneficios duraderos para el medio ambiente, generalmente a través de un compromiso a 100 años de secuestro o reducción de emisiones), verificables (reducciones monitoreadas por un tercero independiente y acreditado), ejecutables (reducciones sujetas a sanciones por incumplimiento y revocación) y adicionales (reducciones establecidas debido a los incentivos asociados con el mercado de carbono e independientes de las prácticas comerciales habituales).

La adicionalidad es un principio clave en los proyectos de compensación de carbono, ya los créditos de compensación representan las reducciones de GEI que han sido implementadas de manera voluntaria a través de incentivos financieros proporcionados por el mercado de carbono. Al exigir que los créditos de compensación sean emitidos por actividades que superen las prácticas comunes –también llamado bussiness as usual– es decir no se generen por reducciones de GEI que se habrían producido normalmente, la adicionalidad proporciona valor y credibilidad a la compensación de carbono y mercados de carbono.

¿Cómo se determina la adicionalidad?

Estándar de desempeño vs. análisis financiero de proyectos individuales

La Reserva utiliza el umbral de la prueba estándar de desempeño para evaluar la adicionalidad de un proyecto de compensación de emisiones. Bajo este enfoque, se realiza una investigación previa para determinar y clasificar las actividades de “práctica común” y las actividades por encima de la “práctica común”. En este sentido, las actividades de reducción de emisiones de GEI que se clasifican como de “práctica común” no son adicionales y por tanto no tienen posibilidad de recibir créditos de compensación; por el contrario, las actividades de reducción de GEI por encima o más allá de una práctica común o bussiness as usual son clasificadas adicionales y por tanto pueden recibir créditos de compensación.

A continuación, se destacan los beneficios de emplear una prueba estándar de desempeño para los programas de compensación de emisiones:

Una evaluación más simple, objetiva y eficiente:
El desarrollo del umbral de estándar de desempeño es un esfuerzo intensivo de recolección y evaluación de datos, pero que una vez que se establece, proporciona un medio más simple, objetivo y eficiente para determinar la adicionalidad de un proyecto, esto en comparación con el examen financiero de proyectos individuales. En este aspecto, un proyecto es adicional cuando se incluyen actividades de reducción de GEI predeterminadas para estar por encima de las prácticas comerciales habituales o practicas comunes.
Enfoque riguroso, transparente y de diversas partes interesadas que involucra al público:
Los protocolos de la Reserva se desarrollan bajo un proceso riguroso, transparente, público y de calidad regulatoria que involucra una investigación exhaustiva, grupos de trabajo de múltiples partes interesadas y períodos de comentarios públicos. De esta forma, la Reserva trabaja con las partes interesadas para identificar actividades que logren reducciones de GEI dentro de un sector en específico, investigar prácticas comunes, realizar entrevistas de campo sobre oportunidades y obstáculos para las actividades de reducción de GEI, interactuar con investigadores y líderes intelectuales sobre la mejor tecnología disponible y las mejores prácticas ambientales, así como analizar los requisitos reglamentarios existentes y anticipados para determinar las actividades de prácticas comunes o condiciones con el establecimiento de condiciones de línea base.

Las evaluaciones de adicionalidad financiera a nivel de proyecto pueden parecer un valioso análisis para evaluar la adicionalidad de los proyectos de compensación. Sin embargo, en la práctica, exigir tales evaluaciones puede ser contraproducente, por las siguientes razones:

Sensible a las suposiciones:
La práctica de las evaluaciones de adicionalidad financiera a nivel de proyecto está sujeta a numerosas suposiciones por parte del desarrollador del proyecto, que incluyen variables tales como costos de capital, costos de operación y mantenimiento, costos de energía, tasas de inflación, tasas de rendimiento objetivo, valor percibido de cualquier crédito, etc. Por tanto, el análisis financiero de cualquier potencial proyecto puede ser extremadamente sensible a tales supuestos y conducir a diferentes conclusiones.

El análisis financiero riguroso de cualquier inversión potencial generalmente implica el desarrollo de una amplia variedad de análisis de sensibilidad que involucra los supuestos clave para comprender los riesgos que sustentan cualquier inversión. Decidir qué análisis de sensibilidad seleccionar como caso principal es un arte, no una ciencia.
Carga administrativa sin prestaciones:
Los programas de compensación de emisiones que se basan en el análisis financiero de proyectos individuales enfrentan una carga administrativa significativa sin ningún beneficio ambiental tangible, lo que hace que su participación en los mercados de carbono sea más inaccesible para los proyectos críticos que necesitan urgentemente financiamiento de carbono.
Obstáculos de mercado, incluida la falta de financiación:
Una cruda realidad de la mitigación climática es el hecho de que existen muchas barreras de mercado para invertir en proyectos de alta calidad, incluso si un proyecto parece económicamente viable. Una de estas barreras es la falta de acceso al capital, dado que se necesitan billones de dólares para llevar a cabo de estos proyectos a nivel internacional, como consecuencia, los objetivos climáticos internacionales no se cumplirán si se bloquea la financiación de este importante grupo de proyectos.
Resultados cuestionables:
La adicionalidad financiera a nivel de proyecto individual fue inicialmente un requisito principal para los proyectos bajo el Mecanismo de Desarrollo Limpio (MDL). Sin embargo, a lo largo de la historia del MDL tuvo un enorme rechazo de diversos sectores con respecto a falta de viabilidad y racionalidad del estándar de adicionalidad financiera a nivel de proyecto, que además condujo a resultados cuestionables.

En respuesta a lo anterior, la Reserva de Acción Climática ha adoptado un enfoque de referencia estandarizado a fin de abordar la adicionalidad financiera para el desarrollo de protocolos y quitar este aspecto de las manos de los desarrolladores de proyectos, quienes tienen el poder de decisión para seleccionar el escenario financiero que mejor respalde la cantidad de créditos (o recibir cualquier crédito). Los créditos de compensación de alta calidad certificados por la Reserva representan credibilidad, valor y eficiencia, así como estándares de desempeño de alta calidad para las actividades de reducción de GEI.

Al considerar los procesos bajo los cuales se desarrollaron y emitieron las compensaciones de emisiones, es fundamental tener en cuenta el método utilizado para determinar la adicionalidad. Recordando siempre que los créditos de compensación que no son adicionales no son verdaderos créditos de compensación.

Mexico Forest Protocol Version 3.0 draft available for public comment

The Reserve has released a policy memo regarding the transition to GWP values from IPCC AR5 for all offset protocols.

Tips for a climate-friendly summer

This summer is predicted to be a “summer of disasters” – with extreme heat, hurricanes, droughts, and wildfires. To combat the doom and gloom, here is a list of helpful ideas on how to have a climate-friendly summer:

	Camp instead of staying at a hotel. Not only will you be closer to nature, but your vacation will have a lower energy and emissions profile.
	Beat the heat by taking cooler showers.
	Reducing showers to 10 minutes can help save hundreds of thousands of gallons of water per year.
	Fans can cool a room up to 10 degrees! Consider open windows at night then closing them in the morning and turning on fans to keep rooms cool. They use much less power than traditional ACs!
	If you have the space, plant trees! In urban areas, “heat islands” exist in spaces where no trees are planted, and in many places (like Los Angeles) organizations will give you up to 4 free trees to plant on your property. https://www.treepeople.org/ https://www.sunset.com/home-garden/plants/where-to-find-free-trees https://www.cityplants.org/
	Reduce electrical use during the day. Using natural lighting and using less electricity during peak hours can help reduce strain on the electrical grid and, in turn, cause less black outs, brown outs, and even wildfires.
	Cover up with UV protection clothing, when possible, instead of wearing sunscreen. This can reduce chemical pollution and also reduces single-use plastics.
	Stay hydrated in the heat with reusable water bottles!
	Summer can be a good time to walk or bike commute.
	Shop for the ultimate local produce by gardening! Gardening greens our environment via the addition of plants, flowers, fruits, and vegetables, and can improve air and soil quality. In addition to growing your own food and beautifying your space, gardening also supports local wildlife and pollinators.
	Travel more sustainably: before you make a local trip to a neighboring town for a weekend activity or event, see if there are options to take a bus or train instead of driving. If that’s not an option, see if you can carpool!
	For someone like me who is thrilled to put all my winter clothes away but am realizing none of my summer clothes from last year fit, I’m in need to go secondhand shopping for new summer digs! There are plenty of cool tank tops, summer dresses, shorts, you name it at thrift stores or your nearby Goodwill that are looking for new homes. Not only that, but you will save money by buying secondhand.
	Hit up the farmers market instead of your national grocery chain: again, summer is the best time of year for fresh produce that is not as easy to come around in the winter months. Take advantage of local produce and farmers markets, which also connect you to your larger community and people in your neighborhood.
	Summer BBQ food choices: we all look forward to BBQs, especially good ole 4th of July. This year instead of grilling up your typical cheeseburgers and hot dogs, try going without the meat! What do you think about vegetable stir fry? Did you know you can grill a pizza with fresh dough right on your grill? Try it out! You get extra bonus points for using reusable containers, utensils, and plates.
	If you have the space in your backyard, put up a drying line and hang your wet clothes out from the washing machine. What better way to get that fresh scent into your clothing that people pay to do!
	If you’re one of the 72 percent of Americans planning a summer trip, consider offsetting your vacation emissions! Many airlines offer the option to offset your flight emissions during checkout or you can use an online emissions calculator to determine the emissions from your transportation and energy use and find a reputable retailer to support emissions reductions in the sector and location of your choice.

The Climate Forward Avoided Wildfire Emissions Forecast Methodology is available for public comment

Climate Action Offsetter: Diamond Packaging

Q&A with Diamond Packaging, who recently retired offsets from the Reserve offset registry

1. Please tell us more about your organization?

Founded in 1911, Diamond Packaging is a WBENC-certified woman-owned business specializing in developing innovative and sustainable packaging solutions. Utilizing state of-the-art technologies, Diamond designs and manufactures paperboard folding cartons for the personal care (cosmetics, hair care, skin care, fragrance, oral care, and shaving), health care, pharmaceutical, cannabis, and consumer electronics industries.

Diamond differentiates itself through award-winning creative design, packaging innovation/technical expertise, and its greenbox sustainability initiative.

Diamond recently announced it has been awarded a Platinum rating by EcoVadis, the leading global advocate for sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The award is the highest recognition given by EcoVadis and places Diamond in the top 1% of all companies evaluated worldwide. Diamond is the ONLY U.S.-based folding carton supplier to receive this distinction.

“We’re very proud of this recognition as it affirms our commitment to sustainability and value as a supply chain partner,” said Dennis Bacchetta, director of marketing and founding member of Diamond’s Green Team.

Diamond ranked in the top 1% of suppliers assessed by EcoVadis in the category “Manufacture of corrugated paper and paperboard and of containers of paper and paperboard”. Diamond ranked highest in the Environment category, which comprises both operational factors (e.g., energy consumption, waste management) and product stewardship (e.g., product use, customer health and safety).

2. What are the key principles and goals of your sustainability program?

Diamond is committed to working toward a cleaner environment. The company developed its greenbox sustainability initiative to research, design, and implement packaging solutions that are innovative and more sustainable.

The core of the initiative – designs, materials, and methods – represents a comprehensive approach to packaging that minimizes environmental impact throughout the supply chain.

Through creative design, careful material selection, and best practices at the plant level, Diamond is able to minimize waste, reduce costs, and increase efficiencies – all of which support a sustainable use of resources and cultivate a positive emotional connection to the brand.

Diamond’s packaging is designed utilizing recyclable or recycled paperboards (many FSC-certified), and manufactured using 100% clean, renewable wind energy, in a Zero Waste to Landfill (ZWL) and Carbon Neutral (covering Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions) facility.

3. What elements of chosen offset projects helped drive the purchase?

Diamond’s carbon offset purchase is a natural evolution of its industry-leading greenbox sustainability initiative and was driven by the co-benefits of the environmental impact and importance in meeting the company’s long term goals.

In 2021 Diamond announced a multi-year commitment to purchase carbon offsets through Climate Action Reserve (CAR) to reduce its carbon footprint. Diamond’s support of high-quality carbon offset projects will help foster reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution, support activities that reduce local air pollution, spur growth in new green technologies, and allow emission reduction goals to be met at lower cost.

With the purchase, Diamond is taking a significant step on the path to carbon neutral by offsetting its Scope 1 emissions. Its Scope 2 emissions are already offset through its long-term commitment to wind energy. (Since 2007 Diamond has purchased Green-e certified renewable energy certificates for 100% of its electrical energy requirements.)

Combined, these investments resulted in offsetting approximately 1,447 metric tons of CO2e in 2021.

Diamond facilities are now carbon neutral (covering Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions), with ongoing progress towards evaluating and mitigating Scope 3 emissions, which include “indirect emissions” both upstream and downstream of the organization’s activities.

4. How have you benefited from using offsets?

The carbon offsets purchase is a natural extension of Diamond’s greenbox sustainability initiative, which has proven to be a powerful mobilizing force that delivers cost savings, provides new revenue streams, and serves to reinforce a more sustainable operations mindset.

Substantial environmental and economic benefits include:

Increased business opportunities with new prospects and strengthens partnerships with existing customers, many of whom share our commitment to cost innovation and sustainability. This has supported 50% sales growth between 2007 and 2021.
Diamond is a recognized sustainability leader through industry recognition and awards.
Diamond has been able to minimize waste, reduce costs, and increase efficiencies – all of which support a more sustainable use of resources and cultivate a positive emotional connection to our brand.

5. What’s next for your organization’s climate and environmental goals?

Diamond’s ‘Green Team’ meets on a regular basis to assess progress and determine short-term goals, including achieving greater manufacturing efficiencies (and the resultant decreased energy demands), and long-term goals, including more comprehensive tracking of Scope 3 emissions with the aim of decreasing or offsetting them. The company also set a series of absolute and intensity targets to reduce its energy and water consumption, plus Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions for the next 10 years.

Diamond’s continued commitment to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate the business risks of climate change is addressed with science-based targets when measuring its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.

The company has established both absolute and intensity targets against a baseline, and these are being achieved through operational factors, including more efficient production processes, sophisticated HVAC controls, and energy saving methods.

We see this as benefiting our customers, our company, consumers, and of course, the environment.

The updated U.S. Landfill Protocol Version 6.0 is available for project submittal

The Reserve has updated the Soil Enrichment Protocol to version 1.1 – connect with us to earn carbon offsets for agricultural practices that enhance carbon storage in soils