Today is Saturday, October 13, 2023.
(1) J-Credits, the japanese carbon credits, as a mean to "realize both emission reduction and economic growth";
(2) ACX Singapore, the first carbon exchange in Asia, using blockchain technology;
(3) VCM, voluntary carbon credits with specific REDD and ARR price examples variying from USD7 to 34 / tCO2e;
and (4) a topic involving the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
This last one deserves a specific post, not only because it can change the fate of the #VCM - corporates have been using carbon credits while SBTi lacks clarity about it - but also for its direct relation with the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI).
SBTi, a partnership between CDP, United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute and the WWF, has one goal: to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Promoting scientific targets.
During the last Climate Week, SBTi opened a "Call for Evidence on the Effectiveness of the Use of Environmental Attribute Certificates in Corporate Climate Targets".
What does that mean?
As SBTi indicates "the aim is to help the corporate climate action ecosystem understand whether different instruments can credibly drive decarbonization and support corporate emission reduction claims". Solely for "investigative purposes", it lists types of evidence sought, for example research studies, statistical information and case studies.
Environmental attribute certificates can relate to:
(1) Energy for electricity;
(2) Other energy carriers like green hydrogen, green gas, sustainable aviation fuel;
(3) Emission reduction credits;
and (4) Certified commodities such as green steel.
This Call for Evidence does not include instruments like removal credits / sinks. According to IPCC's glossary a sink is "any process, activity or mechanism which removes a greenhouse gas ... from the atmosphere".
Important to remember that the VCMI Claims Code of Practice (Code) released June 2023, intended to enhance credibility of VCM and claims that involve the use of carbon credits, includes:
(1) follow SBTi criteria;
(2) disclose which party independently validated the target;
and (3) include scopes 1, 2 and 3.
The call is open until 24 November, 5 days before COP28 starts. Click at the image.
To date, the SBTi has enabled more than 3,200 companies and financial institutions to set validated climate targets in line with science, representing one third of the global economy by market capitalization.
