The Voluntary Carbon Market
As well as the formal Kyoto-driven carbon market there is an increasing demand for companies who wish to compensate for their emissions on a voluntary basis, going over and above the government-set targets. For this purpose, ClimateCare supplies Verified Emission Reductions (VERs) or Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) retired outside of the compliance market.
Why experts believe we need a voluntary market
The VER market mostly supports projects with strong sustainable development benefits that improve the quality of life for local communities. A typical example is ClimateCare’s pioneering work to provide fuel-efficient cooking stoves in the developing world. These stoves not only reduce CO2 emissions, but also drastically reduce respiratory diseases and save the owners both time and money. These projects play a vital role in the developed world where the strong stories can be used to engage consumers in the issues of climate change.
Fuel-efficient cooking stoves are one of many carbon saving measures that have been developed within the VER market. The need to tackle areas that the CDM cannot is vital now and will remain so in the future.
In summary, the voluntary market works in parallel with the CDM to:
- Innovate – VER projects will continue to use highly innovative methods to try and find new ways to reduce emissions acting as a test bed for later inclusion in the formal markets.
- Expedite – using the inherent flexibility within the market, voluntary projects can more quickly meet short-term surges in demand for VERs.
- Support – Provide additional confidence to the market to invest in potential CDM projects that may fail or experience delayed accreditation due to technicalities in the CDM process.
- Communicate - by actively seeking real stories in projects that engage local people and western consumers in the issues of climate change and improve carbon literacy.
The key differences in these types of emission reductions
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VERs |
CERs |
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