Voluntary carbon credits allow companies to buy and sell carbon credits to offset their emissions - but many companies have been accused of greenwashing as they have used carbon credits to avoid reducing their own emissions. And many of the projects creating credits have been accused of failing to produce meaningful emissions reductions.
Clearly, something has to change.
In this month's CCAG public broadcast, we discuss CCAG's new report on VCMs and look at what needs to be done to restore trust in the system.
As CCAG Chair and Founder Sir David King says, “There is no doubt that the voluntary carbon market faces immense challenges if it is to play a significant role moving forward. But I do believe that if it is based on robust scientific principles and is implemented transparently, the VCM has the potential to be a significant force for good. The science is clear: we need to be pulling every lever available to us to help tackle the climate crisis. This is one such lever and we should be doing everything possible to ensure that it is fit for purpose.”
Our host Ade Adepitan is joined by the following CCAG members:
- Professor Mark Maslin, lead author of the report and Professor of Earth System Science at UCL
- Dr Fatima Denton, Director of the United Nations University for Natural Resources in Africa
- Sir David King, CCAG Chair and Founder and former Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Government
- Dr Guido Schmidt-Traub, Executive Director of the UN sustainable development solutions network and Partner at Systemiq
And our esteemed guest:
- Mark Kenber, Executive Director of the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI)
Read our report here: www.ccag.earth/reports/voluntary-carbon-markets-pitfalls-potential-and-the-path-forward