About an article from last Thursday by the British The Guardian.
Earlier this year, another article ignited efforts towards enhancing quality of carbon credits. Meanwhile a framework was developed by London’s VCMI. And the word “integrity” became key, specially in non-regulated forest voluntary carbon markets (VCM).
Trust, credibility and transparency are key element of any business relationship between demand (buyers) and offer (owners, developers). Specially given the 20-plus years of duration of these VCM projects. Otherwise, serious failings and concerns will be frequent.
Besides trees and stopping deforestation, there are other carbon credits methodologies such as for cookstoves, renewables and engineering solutions like CDR, BECCS and CCS (even with a tax credit in US).
Verra already reacted to one study mentioned in the article.
Gold Standard also positioned itself about carbon credits becoming stranded assets: “data doesn't suggest this is happening for Gold Standard credits”.
Click here for the article, that does not mention the word “integrity” nor VCMI’s efforts.
One should recognise that through changes to technology, methodology and industry guidelines, the VCM is taking up its responsibilities.
And the word “worthless” in the title, apparently linked to speculators, does not reflect the true value of the “tree technology” that, since before the first human being, has been converting CO2 into breathable O2, storing C in trunks, transpiring H2O to the atmosphere and providing shadow. Even Ralph Waldo Emerson noted its relevance in his Essential Writings 1833 / 1847: “Then England has all the materials of a working country except wood.”
At the picture below, received from our reader Carlos G. Caleiro Guimarães, a note written by Germans, who already replanted their Black Forest:
“There is a magical machine that sucks CO2 out of the air, costs very little, and builds itself. The name is tree.”
Regardless of methodologies, carbon credits or “tree-tokens”, think of all cut by generations, burnt in wildfires, still standing, and to be planted.
