As critics towards the quality of carbon removal offsets were a leading topic this year, the nonprofit organization operating the carbon removal standards in the voluntary carbon markets Verra has appointed Judith Simon as its new president.
Relevant: The Guardian Investigation Of Verra Carbon Offsets Claims More Than 90% Are “Worthless”
The organization hired Mrs. Simon who brings 30 years of experience in senior operations roles. She also spent the last two years with Seattle-based tech real-estate marketplace Zillow. Her role in Verra is to improve the organization’s certification process and “enhance transparency and trust across all operations,” according to a company statement.
Judith Simon will run the operations side of functions like policy, innovation, operations, technology, and finance, and be based at the headquarters of Verra in Washington D.C.
According to Verra’s chief executive David Antonioli, Simon’s hire “helps ensure that we both meet the demands of the present and build an organization for the future.” He also added that they need to make sure Verra can support markets seeking to achieve sustainable development around the world.
Relevant: Verra And Pachama Introduce World’s Largest Forest Carbon Program
Ensuring the credibility of the massively growing carbon removal markets is critical for the world to tackle the access amount of greenhouse gas emissions. Without relying on the carbon credits and carbon offsets to bring actual additionality in emissions reductions, the whole industry’s existence is pointless.
