Environmental News from the UK:
A consultation for a global standard to assess companies’ claims about progress towards internal climate targets and their use of carbon offset credits launched on Tuesday, seeking to bring transparency to an unregulated market.
Many global companies such as Shell (SHEL.L) and Easyjet (EZJ.L) have set net zero-emission targets, saying they would need to buy or generate carbon credits to offset residual greenhouse gases.
Offset credits, based on projects for planting trees or switching to less polluting fuels, currently trade in an unregulated, voluntary market with many different standards and approaches.
Some climate activist groups such as Greenpeace are critical of offsets, saying they paper over a lack of action to achieve actual emissions cuts.
The Claims Code of Practice launched by the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI), backed by the British government, seeks to help investors establish whether claims made by companies using carbon offsets are credible.
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Source: Reuters