Since we’re on the topic of offsets… It’s been a tough couple years for voluntary GHG offsets, what with claims of fraud, turmoil in market players and the rise in greenwashing claims. Even so, advocates argue that doing something about GHG emissions is better than doing nothing. Maybe, but still… Some good news and a potential alternative could be on the horizon according to Bloomberg. Talks at COP29 may actually result in something useful: getting agreement on letting “countries trade carbon reductions with other nations and corporations, under a framework known as Article 6.4” that would “provide an alternative to the so-called voluntary carbon market (VCM).”
This certainly isn’t a done deal and, even if agreement is reached, it won’t be simple to implement. Here is how Bloomberg visualized the concept:
Even though the illustration is called “simplified,” it is more complicated than the VCM – but probably less risky. Actually, pretty much everything about the VCM is complicated so maybe this is simpler? In the meantime, VCM players – along with regulators like the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission – continue efforts to improve quality and certainty in the market. Things look to be headed in the right direction, but caution is still very much warranted.
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