Standard for certifying carbon emissions reductions
Verified Carbon Standard
Formation
2005
Type
Nonprofit 501(c)(3)
Purpose
A carbon accounting standard and organisation.
Headquarters
Washington, D.C.
CEO
David Antonioli
Website
https://verra.org/
The Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), formerly the Voluntary Carbon Standard,[1] is a standard for certifying carbon credits to offset emissions.[2][3] VCS is administered by Verra, a 501(c)(3) organization.[4] Verra is the world's biggest certifier of voluntary carbon offsets.[5] As of 2020 there were over 1,500 certified VCS projects covering energy, transport, waste, forestry, and other sectors.[6] In 2021 Verra issued 300 MtCO2e worth of offset credits for 110 projects.[7]: 37 There are also specific methodologies for REDD+ projects.[6] Verra is the program of choice for most of the forest credits in the voluntary market, and almost all REDD+ projects.[8]
Verra was developed in 2005 when the company Climate Wedge and its partner Cheyne Capital designed and drafted the first version (version 1.0) of the Voluntary Carbon Standard. This standard was intended as a quality standard for transacting and developing "non-Kyoto" Protocol carbon credits. Climate Wedge was at the time active as a carbon markets investment advisory firm.[9]
There are controversies around this standard and how it is implemented. In 2023, an investigation by The Guardian, Die Zeit, and SourceMaterial (a non-profit investigative journalism outlet) found that about 94% of the rainforest carbon offsets certified by Verra are worthless.[10] The investigation even found that the standard may in fact worsen climate change: "Investigation into Verra carbon standard finds most are ‘phantom credits’ and may worsen global heating".[10] In May 2023, following months of criticism towards Verra in its handling of carbon-offsetting, CEO David Antonioli resigned.[11]
^Greenfield, Patrick (2023-03-10). "As carbon offsetting faces 'credibility revolution', shoppers should be wary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
^ ab"Methodologies". Verra. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
^State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2022. World Bank. 2022. doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-1895-0 (inactive 31 January 2024). hdl:10986/37455. ISBN 9781464818950. Retrieved 24 March 2023.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2024 (link)
^Chagas, Thiago; Galt, Hilda; Lee, Donna; Neeff, Till; Streck, Charlotte (2020). A close look at the quality of REDD+ carbon credits(PDF). Climate Focus. Page 5.
^ abGreenfield, Patrick (2023-01-18). "Revealed: more than 90% of rainforest carbon offsets by biggest certifier are worthless, analysis shows". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
^Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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