ECOSYSTEM MARKETPLACE: “Carbon cowboy” pieces get clicks, but at the risk of ignoring what indigenous communities are actually saying
The climate finance space is at risk. Confronted with an onslaught of agenda-driven media coverage aiming to discredit one of the largest sources of funding available for forest protection, mechanisms like REDD+ and voluntary carbon markets could be unfairly discredited to the point of losing momentum and support at a critical time for climate action. REDD+ credits, specifically projects financed through the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM), have faced increasing criticism in the media over the past year.
Read MoreCOMMENT: Viridios AI analysis reveals voluntary carbon price drivers
It’s been a rollercoaster ride for carbon markets over the past 12 months, with policy changes and ongoing scrutiny seeing some of the most historically stable voluntary carbon credits facing price pressure. The latest analysis from Viridios’ AI-powered carbon credit pricing platform VAI shows that despite some negative market sentiment certain methodologies and geographies continue to trade at a premium.
Read MoreCOMMENT: Communication is key – four ways carbon projects can better engage with Indigenous people
Developers need to embed Indigenous leadership into projects in a way that is not fundamentally disempowering, and for this there must be lasting, genuine interactions between project developers and people on the ground, writes Isack Bryson of Carbon Tanzania.
Read MoreCOMMENT: Four things holding back the voluntary carbon market
On March 29th, a group of climate leaders including Zeke Hausfather of Stripe, Alicia Seiger of Stanford, Elizabeth Sturcken of Environmental Defense Fund, Zack Parisa of NCX, and moderator, Shyla Raghav from CO2 – TIME gathered in NCX’s “Treehouse” in San Francisco to discuss and debate the challenges facing nature-based solutions, and the voluntary carbon market. Here are a few takeaways from their discussion.
Read MoreCOMMENT: In defence of nature-based carbon offsets
Carbon offsets are not the solution to climate change, nor should they be the central pillar of any country or government’s net zero plans. But they are very important in the short and medium term because many emissions that cannot be reduced away can be offset, taking that damaging CO2 back out of the atmosphere, writes Ed Mitchard, chief scientist at UK-headquartered nature tech firm Space Intelligence.
Read MoreCOMMENT: Evolving climate science, carbon accounting, and the need to support urgent action
The ongoing need to evaluate and refine accounting methods, incorporating new data and new understanding, is not a fatal flaw in the AFOLU market, rather it is a natural and essential process so that market-based finance can be delivered more efficiently and urgently to fight climate change and conserve forests around the world, write David Shoch, Scott Settelmyer, and Rebecca Dickson, of TerraCarbon LLC.
Read MoreANNOUNCEMENT: Call for Expression of Interest to join the Climate Action Data Trust User Forum
Climate Action Data Trust is launching a Call for Expression of Interest to join the CAD Trust User Forum. We are looking for a variety of stakeholders across the carbon market value chain, from both the public and private sector. Applicants who meet the necessary criteria are encouraged to submit their interest online.
Read MoreCOMMENT: Voluntary carbon markets – still broken but signs of a breakthrough?
Voluntary carbon markets have come under fire in recent weeks with questions raised of the merits of a range of projects across the world. While the headlines are of course disappointing and knock confidence in the sector as a whole, the greater scrutiny is welcomed to ensure carbon credits deliver the climate impact they are designed to offer and to provide sufficient return on capital to carbon-reducing projects to stimulate more such projects, writes Louis Redshaw of Redshaw Advisors.
Read MoreCOMMENT: Six questions to resolve in order for carbon markets to deliver more for nature
Carbon markets can be an incredibly important tool to finance nature-based solutions at the scale required to be meaningful on a global scale, however, there are some serious questions which must be resolved as soon as possible if verified (not just voluntary) carbon markets are to deliver their full potential for nature, writes Ed Hewitt of Respira.
Read MoreCOMMENT: One Planet, One Paris Agreement, One Carbon Standard and Accounting System
Concerns over the quality of carbon credits from Verra’s forestry projects are making headlines again, calling into question the validity of REDD+. This is a shame since ending deforestation is key to achieving a 1.5C world. But there is a solution, the UNFCCC REDD+ mechanism, write Kevin Conrad and Federica Bietta of the Coalition for Rainforest Nations (CfRN).
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