Carbon Protocols, Standards & Registries
Carbon offset protocols, standards and registries ensure that carbon reduction projects produce real, quantifiable, permanent and additional greenhouse gas emission reductions.
3Degrees sources carbon offsets that are third-party verified using objective, credible and transparent carbon offset protocols. Some examples of high-quality protocol standards and registries that track carbon offsets which use such standards are listed below.
Climate Action Reserve (CAR): The Climate Action Reserve is a national offsets program working to ensure integrity, transparency and financial value in the U.S. carbon market. It does this by establishing regulatory-quality standards for the development, quantification and verification of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction projects in North America; issuing carbon offset credits known as Climate Reserve Tonnes (CRT) generated from such projects; and tracking the transaction of credits over time in a transparent, publicly-accessible system. Adherence to the Reserve’s high standards ensures that emissions reductions associated with projects are real, permanent and additional, thereby instilling confidence in the environmental benefit, credibility and efficiency of the U.S. carbon market.
Green-e® Climate: Green-e Climate is the first certification and consumer protection program for carbon offsets sold to consumers on the retail market. The program complements project certification and verification programs and protocols by ensuring that offset sellers purchase and retire correct volumes and types of emissions reductions on behalf of customers alongside a clear chain of custody from the verified project to the consumer. The program sets the standard for which of the project standards and protocols are most robust, limits supply to only these endorsed project certification programs, requires verification of ownership and sales, and ensures full disclosure and accurate offset information to the consumer.
The Green-e Climate Protocol for Renewable Energy establishes eligibility requirements for grid-connected renewable energy projects in the United States to produce offsets, including methodologies used to assess additionality and calculate the emission reductions, as well as other requirements related to tracking, prevention of double counting and double claiming, and verification.
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM): The CDM allows emission-reduction (or emission removal) projects in developing countries to earn certified emission reduction (CER) credits, each equivalent to one ton of CO2. These CERs can be traded and sold, and used by industrialized countries to a meet a part of their emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol. The mechanism stimulates sustainable development and emission reductions while giving industrialized countries some flexibility in how they meet their emission reduction limitation targets. The projects must qualify through a rigorous and public registration and issuance process designed to ensure real, measurable and verifiable emission reductions that are additional to what would have occurred without the project.
Gold Standard: The Gold Standard Foundation registers projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in ways that contribute to sustainable development and certifies their carbon credits for sale on both compliance and voluntary offset markets. Renewable energy and end-use efficient projects with sustainable development benefits are eligible to apply for registration with the Gold Standard.
Verified Carbon Standard (VCS): The Verified Carbon Standard Program provides a robust, new global standard and program for approval of credible voluntary offsets. VCS offsets must be real (have happened), additional (beyond business-as-usual activities), measurable, permanent (not temporarily displace emissions), independently verified and unique (not used more than once to offset emissions)..
Community, Climate, and Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA) Standards: The CCBA voluntary standards help design and identify land-based carbon projects that simultaneously minimize climate change, support sustainable development and conserve biodiversity. CCBA is like the “Gold Standard” for forest carbon projects. CCBA will validate a project, but it does not measure and verify carbon reductions. CCBA is best seen as an “add-on” standard that addresses the community and biodiversity benefits of a forest carbon project. 3Degrees seeks projects that combine CCBA validation with another quantitative carbon verification such as VCS forestry protocols.
Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX): CCX, launched in 2003, has developed standardized rules for many carbon reduction project types that promote transparency, rigor and integrity. 3Degrees only uses CCX project protocols that meet its rigorous criteria for quality and additionality. These include coal mine methane, livestock methane, and landfill methane projects.
