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The draft U.S. and Canada Biochar Protocol is available for public comment. Join us Thursday, December 7 for a public comment webinar.
In show of continued support for a high-integrity VCM, the Climate Action Reserve submits its program for assessment against ICVCM’s Core Carbon Principles
The Reserve welcomes and supports critical work of the ICVCM
LOS ANGELES, CA – Continuing its strong support for a high-integrity, robust and scalable global voluntary carbon market (VCM), the Climate Action Reserve submitted its program for assessment against the criteria laid out in the Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) from the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM).
“As evidenced by its own high standards for rigor, transparency, additionality and permanence in its program, the Reserve always has supported and fought for integrity in carbon credits. Presenting the Reserve program for evaluation against the CCPs can only help make the market stronger and establish more trust and confidence,” said Linda Adams, Chair of the Climate Action Reserve Board of Directors.
Recognizing that a strong VCM is critical for achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement and contributing to net zero development, the ICVCM is setting and enforcing global market standards, which will further strengthen integrity in the VCM and allow the market to scale to the level that is needed.
The CCPs provide thresholds for basic principles, disclosure and sustainable development that high-integrity carbon credits should meet. There are 10 CCPs covering the areas of governance (effective governance, tracking, transparency and independent third-party validation and verification), emissions impact (additionality, permanence, quantification and no double counting) and sustainable development (benefits and safeguards and contribution toward net zero transition). The thresholds were developed in collaboration with scientific, local community, policy and private sector input.
Programs that are approved as meeting the CCP thresholds will be able to tag credits that come from categories of carbon credits that have also been given the CCP label. Doing this will strengthen trust and confidence in the VCM, which will encourage more financial investment towards the most cost-effective, impactful climate mitigation projects globally, including in the global south.
“We fully support the critical work of the ICVCM and the ongoing advancement of the VCM. Failing at this work is not an option if we want a livable environment in the future,” said Craig Ebert, President of the Climate Action Reserve. “We look forward to continuing to collaborate with and support the ICVCM.”
If the Reserve is approved as meeting the criteria established in the CCPs, it will be able to tag its credits, Climate Reserve Tonnes (CRTs), from categories of credits that have been CCP approved. The approval of project types – or categories – is a separate ICVCM evaluation running in parallel to CCP program assessments. For more information on the ICVCM and the CCPs, please visit www.icvcm.org.
The Climate Action Reserve is the most trusted, efficient, and experienced offset registry for global carbon markets. A pioneer in carbon accounting, the Reserve promotes and fosters the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through credible market-based policies and solutions. As a high-quality offset registry for voluntary carbon markets, it establishes rigorous standards involving multi-sector stakeholder workgroup development and local engagement and issues carbon credits in a transparent and publicly available system. The organization also supports compliance carbon markets in California, Washington and internationally. The Reserve is an environmental nonprofit organization headquartered in Los Angeles, California with staff members located around the world. For more information, please visit www.climateactionreserve.org.
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Building a Low-Carbon Future with Low-Carbon Cement
The Climate Action Reserve recently developed the U.S. Low-Carbon Cement Protocol to incentivize the availability and use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) or alternative cementitious materials (ACMs) in cement production. The protocol offers a pathway for the voluntary carbon market to help offset costs to competitively bring these SCMs/ACMs to market, which is key for the cement industry and building/ infrastructure projects to meet environmental goals and significantly reduce emissions.
Check out the infographic below for more information:
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The Reserve Offset Program Manual has been updated. Public comments will be accepted until Friday, November 10.
Check out the latest Carbon Connection podcast: What Lies Ahead at COP28 with Lisa DeMarco, Senior Partner and CEO at Resilient LLP
The draft Guatemala Forest Protocol is available for public comment through Nov 14. Join us for a public comment webinar on Nov 7.
Check out our latest Carbon Connection podcast: Facilitating the Low-Carbon Transition in the Cement Industry with McKenzie Smith, Associate Director at the Reserve, and Danny Gray, Executive Vice President of Strategy & Business Ops at Eco Material
Be sure to listen to the latest Carbon Connection podcast: The Role of Financial Institutions in Carbon Markets with Luke Oliver, Managing Director, Head of Climate Investments, and Head of Strategy at KraneShares
Three newly adopted Climate Action Reserve offset protocols provide global VCM with new opportunities for high integrity GHG emissions reductions
The protocols bring financial support for sustainable development in the US cement industry, Chinese industrial sector and Dominican Republic agriculture sector
LOS ANGELES, CA – The Climate Action Reserve Board of Directors approved three new protocols for use under the nonprofit organization’s offset program, providing the global voluntary carbon market (VCM) with more opportunities for creating high quality GHG emissions reductions, investing in local communities and sustainable development and supporting global climate goals. The protocols also mark the Reserve’s expansion into China and the Dominican Republic and the cement sector.
“We are at the point when virtually every person on earth has seen and felt the dangerous effects of climate change, and the urgency to act is very real. Humans must be fully utilizing every tool they have to address climate change,” said Linda Adams, Chair of the Climate Action Reserve Board of Directors. “We know that the VCM is one of the strongest and most impactful tools that is making a difference right now, not next year or in five years. Making these protocols available will support the scaling of the global VCM through actions that have integrity, high quality, transparency and rigor.”
The adopted protocols are the China Adipic Acid Production Protocol V1.0, Low-Carbon Cement Protocol V1.0 and Dominican Republic Livestock Protocol V1.0. As with all Reserve offset protocols, each of these was developed through a transparent, public process involving an expert workgroup with members possessing diverse perspectives and areas of expertise.
The protocols expand the Reserve’s work by industry and region. The China Adipic Acid Production Protocol addresses a sector that produced over three million metric tons of nitrous oxide (N2O) back in 2015. To meet the requirement of additionality in a very conservative fashion, the threshold for credit issuance is high with a 90 percent baseline, but because N2O has a global warming potential 265 times that of CO2, the impact of reducing N2O emissions is very significant.
The Low-Carbon Cement Protocol also targets a sector with potential for large emissions reductions and could have significant impact in more sustainable building infrastructure.
Agriculture is a major source of emissions in the Dominican Republic, and the Dominican Republic Livestock Protocol supports the permanent destruction of methane emissions. The protocol also provides incentive for dairy, beef, chicken and swine farms to reduce not only their emissions but also air and water pollution for local communities. Approximately 29 percent of the country is dedicated to livestock.
“These new protocols are outstanding offset project types that will achieve permanent emissions reductions, become invaluable for the livelihood of local communities and positively change the way some companies conduct their business in a more sustainable way. Without waiting for global policy to tell them what to do or for governments to step in, the groups involved have voluntarily taken action on their own and made a difference,” said Craig Ebert, President of the Climate Action Reserve. “We commend all these groups – from the project developers to the buyers of the credits. We are looking forward to working with more of these action-oriented companies in China, Dominican Republic and the US cement sector.”
To learn more about each protocol, please visit:
China Adipic Acid Production Protocol
Dominican Republic Livestock Protocol
The Climate Action Reserve is the most trusted, efficient, and experienced offset registry forglobal carbon markets. A pioneer in carbon accounting, the Reserve promotes and fosters the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through credible market-based policies and solutions. As a high-quality offset registry for voluntary carbon markets, it establishes rigorous standards involving multi-sector stakeholder workgroup development and local engagement and issues carbon credits in a transparent and publicly available system. The organization also supports compliance carbon markets in California, Washington and internationally. The Reserve is an environmental nonprofit organization headquartered in Los Angeles, California with staff members located around the world. For more information, please visit www.climateactionreserve.org.
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