Busy week in the United States (USA). We will not speak of the high temperatures, but of a probable “tsunami”: the USA started to move strongly in the direction of carbon credits. Check it out:
(1) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Released a Simplified GHG Emissions Calculator. In Excel. It is a tool to help small companies estimate their annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The calculator determines direct and indirect emissions by entering basic data on the various tabs. Click on the image below to access and download.
(2) Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
Organized the "Second Voluntary Carbon Markets Convening” streamed live on YouTube last Wednesday. That is, two days after the release of the “Compliance Carbon Markets” report by IOSCO, of which the CFTC is a member, with guidelines on how to properly structure carbon markets.
Breadth and depth of content, with participants such as Gold Standard, Verra, World Bank (quoted the effort of a centralized registry), Sylvera, BeZero Carbon and ACX. Here the complete list.
US seems to want to stimulate the carbon market. And obviously with a lot of determination, including suggesting that the Government take steps on some of the methodologies that currently generate carbon credits.
"Some steps ahead in the coming months", concluded Rostin Behnam, chairman of the CFTC.
(3) Plant 1 trillion trees
On Tuesday it was the leader of the US House of Representatives who proposed planting a trillion trees, thus moving away from “climate change denial”. “We need to manage our forests better so our environment can be stronger” he added.
(4) Citigroup
Last week, the guide “Voluntary Carbon Market. A Critical Piece of the Net Zero Puzzle”. This is guidance from the Global Markets area, discussing how the market works, describing what initiatives are being taken to improve it, and devising six steps to help companies use carbon credits.
United States, new protagonist in carbon credits?
