©Anthropocene Magazine
Anthropocene Magazine has a useful summary, created by Mark Harris, of the strength’s, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of various carbon credit schemes. In a short read it helps clarify some, if not all, questions that can generate from conflicting headlines on the topic:
What Counts As A Carbon Credit?
A new UN draft report threatens to sideline billions of tons of future carbon removal
Back in 2015, the Paris Agreement called for the creation of an international program through which countries could trade emissions to meet their climate commitments. For that to happen, the world has to agree on what qualifies for a carbon credit.
Most offset programs to date have focused on planting and preserving vast tracts of forests or wetlands. A few have a higher-tech focus, aiming to lock up carbon dioxide in rock or store it underground.
Now Bloomberg reports a UN group working on the issue has declared that engineering-based systems do not meet any of the objectives of the program—and might not even qualify for it. But nature-based programs have their issues, too, with some accused of being virtually worthless.
The debate is now in full swing in the lead up to COP28 Climate talks in November. No formal UN decision has yet been made. But when it is, it could profoundly affect how humanity can respond to the carbon removal challenge in the decades ahead. Here’s how the choices shape up…
Read the whole summary here.
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