Accelerating the transition towards a sustainable net zero economy is critical for the health and well-being of everyone living on our planet. Carbon markets are a tool created to facilitate that transition and give an opportunity to companies that cannot immediately eliminate their emissions to compensate for them by supporting carbon removal projects.
With recent reports and discussions surrounding the integrity of carbon markets and carbon offsets, the future of this sector is being determined right at this moment. 50+ organizations have signed an open letter to express their support of high-integrity carbon markets, advocating for an ongoing effort to build trust in these climate change solutions, raise their validity and boost their efficiency in mitigating the climate crisis.
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The organizations represent a mix of developers, rating platforms, NGOs, marketplaces, intermediaries, and industry bodies that respond to recent publications that have raised the very critical issue – carbon offsets are currently not as efficient in reducing emissions as they must.
The entities that have signed the letter also encourage more groups and individuals to join the conversation in order to make sure carbon offsets really work going forward as the industry expects a rapid expansion of the carbon market.
The current issues concerning the exact measurement of carbon offsets need to be resolved now so that the carbon market gets efficient in ensuring emissions reductions as it is poised for rapid growth.
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According to the letter signed by organizations, adherence to the “mitigation hierarchy” is promoted which means companies must first avoid and reduce emissions and then use credits from high-integrity carbon markets only to compensate for emissions they absolutely can’t avoid.
The letter states that carbon markets offer a pathway for companies to act on climate change mitigation and do something to reduce emissions. The alternative for them would be to do nothing about their unavoidable greenhouse gases and wait around for “a perfect solution” to the climate crisis that they could implement.
