In this episode of ClimateTalks we meet Cercarbono, a voluntary carbon certification program that facilitates and guarantees the registration of climate change mitigation projects.
The Biden administration is pushing for high-quality voluntary carbon markets to combat the climate change crisis.
In this episode of ClimateTalks we meet Verra to discuss how they are facilitating a sustainable transition through carbon offsetting.
In this article we will explore the key differences between carbon removal vs. carbon avoidance and tell you how to choose between them.
Market clarity empowers businesses to leverage verified high-quality carbon offsets and maximize their net-zero goals. Explore how these offsets are measured and find the perfect fit for your sustainability journey.
IETA promotes carbon credits for bridging the emissions gap, but emphasizes responsible use through new guidelines for climate action.
The agreement signed between ClimateTrade and the UIA International Forum 2022 will drive dozens of affordable housing events towards carbon neutrality, strengthening global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through this collaboration, the Affordable Housing Activation (AHA) event in Madrid on May 18-20 will be made carbon-neutral, and side event organizers will be incentivized to calculate and offset their carbon footprint. The UIA International Forum 2022, named ‘Affordable Housing Activation Removing Barriers’, promotes a collaborative and innovative framework to improve housing affordability in the world, which is part of SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). Between January and May 2022, dozens of events will be organized in different regions and countries, and they will be supported by Spain’s architecture association CSCAE, the Forum’s organizer, to reach carbon neutrality through CO2 emissions offset. This means that the Forum is effectively targeting SDG 11 and SDG 13 (Climate Action) through the same project. The Forum will be concluded in the Spanish capital with AHA Madrid, the emissions of which will be calculated and offset through the financing of mitigation projects on ClimateTrade’s marketplace. Angela Baldellou, executive director of the AHA Forum, notes: “With this initiative, we are supporting international side event organizers on their path towards more sustainable events and actions, by enabling the offset of their carbon footprint. To achieve this, we can count on ClimateTrade’s collaboration to make the processes simpler and more digital, opening the doors to the world of environmental projects for participating companies and allowing them to contribute without intermediaries. It is fundamental to raise awareness, mitigate climate change and offer coherent responses to the multiple-crisis scenario we are facing: affordability responses cannot go against sustainability goals. Quite the opposite: when we create an activist movement, it needs to go in the same direction as the others and contribute to complete sustainability.” Moreover, these events will be presented in a hybrid online/in-person format, cutting their emissions by 50-60% compared to purely physical events. Francisco Martín, Head of Engineering and Key Account Manager at ClimateTrade, adds: “We are excited about this new collaboration with CSCAE, through which AHA’s main event and its side events can benefit from our company’s experience in international events and congresses in the US, Argentina and Spain, among others.” About CSCAE Created in 1931, Spain’s Architect Association (Consejo Superior de los Colegios de Arquitectos de España or CSCAE) is an entity gathering all architect associations in Spain for the promotion of architecture and the pursuit of common objectives. It represents these associations and the more than 47,000 professional architects working in Spain for public and private corporations, as well as for international organizations. The association recently launched a carbon footprint calculator for the construction sector. For more information www.cscae.com. About ClimateTrade ClimateTrade is a Spanish-based climate marketplace helping global brands achieve their sustainability goals by offsetting CO2 emissions and financing climate regenerative projects. Pioneering the development of its blockchain marketplace, ClimateTrade recently launched an API and a Widget that allow companies to offer carbon-neutral products and services to their customers.
Looking to buy carbon credits to offset your carbon footprint, but unsure how to do so? In this article, we guide you through the process of purchasing carbon credits. As the world moves towards Net Zero, more and more companies are offsetting their carbon footprint, by contributing financially to sustainable projects around the world. But how exactly does offsetting work, and what are your options when looking to purchase carbon offsets? What is carbon offsetting through buying carbon credits? Carbon offsetting is the process of purchasing carbon credits on the carbon market generated by CO2 absorption projects, to make up for a company or person’s emissions. First, it requires calculating the carbon footprint of your company. Let’s say a company has emitted 1,000 tons of greenhouse gases (GHG) in a given year: to offset this footprint, it will need to buy 1,000 carbon credits, each representing 1 ton of CO2-equivalent. This accounting system is a relatively simple way to ensure that the world doesn’t emit more than it can absorb, as well as providing much needed financing to carbon mitigation projects. Once you know what your carbon footprint is, and after you have taken measures such as switching to renewable energy or cutting electricity consumption to reduce it, it is time to offset the remaining carbon emissions by purchasing carbon credits. What are ‘good’ or ‘bad’ carbon credits? Different ways to buy carbon credits There are several ways to buy carbon credits to offset your footprint. Buy carbon credits directly from developers The most direct way to purchase them is at the source: from the organization responsible for the project you want to support. In this case, your company can either invest in the development of the project with a promise of return in the form of future carbon credits, or buy what are called Emission Reduction Purchase Agreements (ERPAs), upfront payment for carbon credits to be delivered as and when they are generated. This latter option is more common when the project is already at a later stage of development. There are two main advantages to buying your carbon credits directly from the project developer: it allows you gain a deep understanding of the project and get involved in its management you can secure lower prices than with a reseller But this option is not for everyone: it requires a certain amount of research and knowledge to identify and engage with suitable projects the carbon credits are not immediately available as you purchase them Purchase carbon credits through a broker Many project developers work with brokers to arrange the sale of their carbon credits. In this case, your company would get in touch with a broker and give them specifics about the type of project you’re looking for (location, price, etc.). The broker would find a project that suits you, then purchase carbon credits on your behalf and resell them to you with a mark-up. This option can seem more practical than dealing directly with a project, particularly if you need a lot of carbon offsets: as a service provider, the broker handles all transactions. But there are some significant downsides to take into account: brokers rarely disclose their pricing structures, so you have no clarity on the price of the carbon credit vs the broker fee in some cases, brokers charge companies almost three times as much as they pay project developers, abusing their power as the middleman and defeating the purpose of climate finance The Financial Times recently exposed just how opaque carbon credit brokers’ practices can be. This is not an option we recommend. Buy carbon credits on the ClimateTrade marketplace The ClimateTrade marketplace combines the positive impact of buying carbon credits directly from the developer with the practicality of using a broker. On our user-friendly platform, you can browse more than 140 certified projects categorized by type, country, and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and choose the carbon offsets most suited to your objectives. Our climate marketplace is accessible to all individuals and companies who want to take action against climate change by supporting sustainable and certified projects. It’s easy to get started following simple steps: Visit our marketplace Choose from a variety of projects, including reforestation, protecting biodiversity, removing trash from oceans, and supporting communities. Find a project that aligns with your values and goals. Choose the units, tons, or MWh that match your own carbon footprint, or specify the amount you wish to contribute. Complete your transaction, and you will receive a customized certificate with details of your offset. The project will receive the funds, and you can rest assured that you’ve taken a step toward reducing your impact on the environment. Automatically receive your traceable carbon offsetting certificate Let your clients offset your carbon footprint ClimateTrade also offers an API and Widget that can be easily integrated into your own payment system, letting your clients offset the carbon footprint of your products and services as they make their purchases. Check out our API and Widget and make your offering carbon-neutral now.
Biodiversity credits are the latest tool in the climate action arsenal – but how do they work and what is their role in relation to the carbon market? Biodiversity protection and restoration is one of the key topics at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, and for good reason. Ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference, WWF revealed the catastrophic effect of human activity on biodiversity: according to the Living Planet Report 2022, wildlife populations shrank by an average of 69% between 1970 and 2018. How is climate change affecting biodiversity? Climate change has been identified as one of the most significant threats to biodiversity in recent years. Rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, and increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as hurricanes, droughts, and wildfires are already having a significant impact on global ecosystems and the species that inhabit them. Some of the effects of climate change on biodiversity include: Range shifts: species that move to cooler climates as their current habitats have become too warm for them, leading to animal extinctions if they cannot adapt to new habitats. Alterations in migration patterns: Climate change is affecting the timing of seasonal events such as flowering, bird migration, and insect emergence. This can disrupt the delicate balance of ecological interactions and result in cascading effects throughout the food chain. Coral bleaching: Warming ocean temperatures have resulted in widespread coral bleaching, where the colorful algae that live in the coral are expelled, causing the coral to turn white and ultimately die. Changes in phenology: The timing of seasonal events, such as when plants flower and when insects emerge, is shifting due to climate change. This can result in mismatches between species that rely on each other, such as pollinators and the plants they pollinate. Why is biodiversity essential for limiting climate change? Climate change is having a profound impact on biodiversity, and we need to implement strategies to address this urgent global challenge. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions are essential in protecting the planet’s ecosystems and the species that rely on them. If the loss of animal and plant life was not tragic enough, this level of biodiversity loss is hindering our efforts to curb climate change: biodiverse ecosystems like forests, peatlands and oceans are natural carbon sinks, and their efficiency is now at risk. What are biodiversity credits? Voluntary biodiversity credits, including the ones developed by Terrasos and ClimateTrade in May and recently recognized by the World Economic Forum, are economic units representing specific actions for biodiversity protection and restoration. In the case of Terrasos, the credits were generated from the Bosque de Niebla-El Globo Habitat Bank in Colombia, with the support of XM, IDB Lab and Partnership for Forest, with each unit representing 10 square meters of land protected for 30 years. Biodiversity credits are typically created through a certification process that verifies the environmental benefits of the conservation or restoration activities. These credits can then be sold on a market to other developers who need to offset the environmental impacts of their own projects. Biodiversity credits – a new way of funding nature protection The role of biodiversity credits was discussed this week during a World Climate Summit panel on carbon offset markets and their role for biodiversity, held in Egypt alongside COP27. As one of the panel speakers, ClimateTrade CEO Francisco Benedito explained that biodiversity credits are set to allow companies, individuals and governments to go beyond carbon neutrality and become “nature-positive”. “As a former banker I was always worried about how to fund sustainable projects for people without collateral. In a renewable energy project, the collateral is the energy that is set to be produced, for instance. But for biodiversity protection projects there is no collateral. This type of unit – biodiversity credits – is a new way of funding nature protection. Because we need to put money to work to avoid further species extinction,” he noted. Beyond the limitations of carbon markets David Antonioli, CEO of Verra and the panel’s moderator, pointed out that as carbon markets have evolved, their limitations have become clearer. “For instance, to make the REDD+ (reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) work, you need a plausible imminent threat for the forest, that’s the rationale for providing carbon credits. As you get further away from those threats, these projects still provide sustainable livelihoods but because they’re not located where the threat is, they find it difficult to receive carbon finance,” he said, suggesting that biodiversity credits may be able to fill that gap. Verra itself has started to develop a framework around biodiversity credits to ensure that these units can become complementary to the carbon market. Carlijn Nouwen, Co-Founder of the Climate Action Platform for Africa, gave the example of Gabon, a country with very low deforestation rates that cannot access REDD+ creditsm but is looking to monetize the protection of its biodiverse forest. She also emphasized the need to ensure fair compensation for ecosystem services such as biodiversity conservation in the development of these credits: “As we look at paying for biodiversity and ecosystem service credits, we want to make sure we go over and above the financial recognition of carbon credits. We need to innovate with integrity and hold those two things in the right balance to make sure we get equitable compensation for all ecosystem services.” Regulation and education to push demand When it comes to the sources of demand for biodiversity credits, regulation and education are pushing more and more companies towards this offering.” We know about the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, 40% of which is about biodiversity. This is one example of how regulation and education are pushing more and more companies to care. People are starting to see that the biggest climate threat is around biodiversity loss. In fact, in this COP I have seen more people than ever trying to get involved in biodiversity conservation,” said Benedito. As to when the biodiversity credit market will reach the maturity of the