The carbon credit market
NEW MODELS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
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Offset carbon emissions to support the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and contribute concretely to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), or the common objectives set by most UN member states, which concern a set of important issues for development. |
But what is really a carbon credit?
And why should companies use this tool as an integral part of their business strategy?
Carbon credit is a real financial unit that represents the removal of a ton of CO2 equivalent from the atmosphere. It represents the carbon that has been avoided, reduced or seized through a project and that can be purchased as a means to offset emissions. |
The carbon credit mechanism was introduced for the first time with the approval of the Kyoto Protocol - an international treaty that deals with the environment and in particular global warming with the aim of reducing polluting gases deriving from human activities . Its entry into force in 2005 has allowed the adoption of the carbon credit system as a real financial mechanism able to offset the effects of those emissions that would not have otherwise been reduced, and all this has made possible the adoption of ad hoc climate change mitigation strategies.
Carbon credits as an instrument able to promote new models of sustainable development play a key role also within the Paris Agreement, where for the first time we talk about the priority role that companies can have in mitigating the effects of climate change.
Through the simple process of purchasing carbon credits, organizations direct finance to economies and ecosystems in severe difficulty. This means that their funding is not only helping to mitigate climate change, but contributes to the concrete improvement of communities by ensuring an improvement in living conditions and bringing social, economic and environmental benefits on a global scale.
Carbon credits are considered one of the cornerstones of the so-called "Climate Finance", that is all those funding, from both public and private sources, destined to the development of projects and programs for mitigation and adaptation to climate change, with the aim of encouraging transition to "Climate Neutrality" and towards sustainable development.
The SeaForest LIFE will enhance the use of the Climate Finance for conservation and restoration of Posidonia oceanica meadows. Currently there are not yet structured mechanisms to valorise economically the carbon stocks (“Blue carbon”) of Posidonia oceanica meadows. Carbon Market mechanism which is widely used for the climate mitigation activities made in the terrestrial ecosystem is not yet including the possibility to monetize the carbon stocks of Posidonia oceanica meadows.
The SeaForest LIFE project will create a voluntary based carbon market for selling and acquiring the carbon credits generated by the SeaForest LIFE project activities. For this purpose, a national IT-based platform will be created. In the second phase, the platform and carbon market approach is foreseen to be extended to cover all the Mediterranean countries and to be eligible also to be scaled up to new the protected marine areas.
To guarantee the integrity and transparency of the new carbon market it will be eligible only for the credits quantified using the standardized methodology created by the SeaForest LIFE project for this purpose. This will ensure that all the sold emission reductions are real and measured following a commonly approved scientific approach. Also the companies willing to compensate their emissions by purchasing carbon credits generated by conservation and restoration of Posidonia oceanica meadows within the National Parks involved in the Project needs to proof that they have followed the best practice approach i.e. that they have measured their own emissions through a carbon footprint and made reduction activities before opting for compensating the remaining emissions.
Regarding this, to develop an added value to the companies, the companies buying the credits generated by the activities of SeaForest LIFE will be able to use the SeaForest brand to improve their territorial reputation and insert themselves in the quality circuits promoted by the Regions within which the carbon credits are have been generated.
The strength of the SeaForest LIFE project is that will create and be promoting a local market where the companies have the possibility to compensate their emissions through activities reducing and absorbing the greenhouse gas emissions implemented within in the immediate geographical vicinity. Through the simple process of purchasing carbon credits, companies are not only helping to mitigate climate change but directly financing the conservation and restoration activities of Posidonia oceanica meadows and contemporary contributing concretely to the achievement of the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by UN.
TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS TOPICS:
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
