Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets Publishes Roadmap for Strengthening Market Integrity

July 08, 2021
  • Independent Governance Body for the market to be formed by year-end, with ambition to accelerate the transition to net zero through high-integrity voluntary carbon market
  • Announcement follows an in-depth public consultation which received 130 responses from experts across the carbon market value chain

Washington, D.C. — Today the Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets (the Taskforce), launches a new report setting out next steps to the creation of a scaled, high-integrity voluntary market for the trading of carbon credits. The Taskforce will now recruit an independent Governance Body for the market, to ensure that the voluntary carbon market serves its primary purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and accelerating the transition to net zero.

The report follows an in-depth public consultation, attracting over 130 expert responses from across the world. The consultation document itself was based on in-depth conversations with the over 450 members of the Taskforce, conducted via more than 20 working group meetings and over 100 bilateral meetings with interested parties.

The public consultation elicited strong support for the mandate and mission of the Governance Body, which include setting the legal principles to guide the market and the criteria for carbon credit integrity – the Core Carbon Principles (CCPs). Respondents also stressed the importance of the Governance Body in unifying what is currently a fragmented market and ensuring the quality and integrity of credits.

Bill Winters, Chair of the Taskforce and Group Chief Executive, Standard Chartered commented: “Our consultation shows that diverse stakeholders across the world want to see a unified voluntary carbon market, with high quality carbon credits and legal standards, and overseen by a strong and independent Governance Body. This market will allow participants to trade with confidence – safe in the knowledge that this activity is making a difference to the planet and its people, while complementing their efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.”

Jennifer Morris, CEO The Nature Conservancy commented: “The Nature Conservancy is encouraged to see the Taskforce release its Phase II report today. The Taskforce has much work ahead as it pivots from design to implementation, but it is well placed to support a critical set of reforms that, if implemented correctly, can help carbon markets both accelerate action to combat the climate crisis and also deliver much-needed co-benefits for nature and people.”

Blas L. Pérez Henríquez, Director of the California Global Energy, Water & Infrastructure Innovation Initiative at Stanford University, commented: “This work to create high-quality standards for carbon credits is essential to establishing credibility in voluntary carbon markets, which can be a significant lever to address climate change as a complement to direct decarbonization.” 

Cynthia Cummis, Director of Private Sector Climate Mitigation, WRI and SBTi Steering Committee Member, commented: “Today, demand in the voluntary carbon market is held back by a lack of a high-quality standard for credits. Corporate buyers are concerned about the environmental and reputational risks connected with the purchase of credits. The work of the Taskforce is playing an important role to advance efforts to increase carbon credit quality and drive climate action, beyond abatement, on the path towards net zero.”

Alexia Kelly, Senior Advisor, High Tide Foundation, commented: "The work of the Taskforce is critical in ushering in a new era of credible and rigorous use of high-quality carbon credits in corporate voluntary climate action and net zero goals. The quality review and market oversight provided by the new Governance Body will play a central role in enabling critically needed carbon finance to flow into high quality projects that reduce, remove and retain greenhouse gases across the globe."

Expressions of interest to join the Governance Body – formed of a Board of Directors, Expert Panel, Executive Secretariat and member-led consultation group – are now open to diverse experts from across the world. This includes representatives from NGOs, investor alliances, industry associations, academics and market participants, including suppliers, buyers, investors and market intermediaries.  

The Governance Body will promote the development of the global voluntary carbon market through standardization and high-quality thresholds that will support market growth and will be independent of the Taskforce.  Alongside establishing the CCPs and legal standards, it will oversee standard setting organizations on adherence to the CCPs and coordinate the work between individual bodies within the carbon market – whether NGOs, market participants or credit providers.

The Governance Body will seek to standardize the voluntary carbon market’s operations and unify the market behind a consistent set of values and standards, promoting consistency on quality and enabling the market to scale at speed.

The Taskforce has been working to establish the infrastructure for a scaled and high-integrity voluntary market for the trading and exchange of carbon credits since September 2020. To date, it has consulted on a recommended blueprint to build a scaled and successful voluntary carbon market and provided a roadmap for implementation – it now moves to implementing these recommendations to strengthen and scale the voluntary carbon market and enable it to play its crucial part in accelerating the transition to net zero.

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About the Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets

The Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets is a private sector-led initiative working to scale an effective and efficient voluntary carbon market to help meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.

The Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets, launched by Mark Carney, UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance, is chaired by Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive, Standard Chartered and sponsored by the Institute of International Finance (IIF) under the leadership of IIF President and CEO, Tim Adams.  Annette Nazareth, Senior Counsel at Davis Polk and former Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, serves as Operating Lead for the Taskforce, and McKinsey & Company provides knowledge and advisory support.

The TSVCM’s over 250 member institutions, represent buyers and sellers of carbon credits, standard setters, the financial sector, market infrastructure providers, civil society, international organizations and academics. An advisory board of 20 environmental NGOs, investor alliances, academics and international organizations provide guidance on TSVCM recommendations.