The Claims Code seeks to ensure the integrity of voluntary carbon markets to support achievement of the Paris Agreement goals.
By Jean-Philippe Brisson, Paul A. Davies, Sarah E. Fortt, Betty M. Huber, Alicia Robinson, and Deric Behar
The Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity (VCMI) Initiative is “a multi-stakeholder platform to drive credible, net-zero aligned participation in voluntary carbon markets.” The VCMI Initiative, for which the UK government announced its support in March 2021, is co-funded by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and the UK Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy. A central objective of VCMI is to issue guidance for companies and other non-state actors on how carbon credits can be voluntarily used and claimed as part of credible net zero decarbonization strategies. To further this objective, VCMI published for public consultation a Provisional Claims Code of Practice (Claims Code) on June 7, 2022.
The California Legislature is considering a bill to impose corporate sustainability reporting requirements that would substantially expand corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reporting obligations and, according to the bill’s co-author, impact “the vast majority of the country’s largest corporations, who almost all conduct business in California.” If adopted, Senate Bill 260 (SB 260) would establish a first-of-its-kind mandatory GHG emissions reporting framework requiring regulated entities to report all emissions “scopes,” including Scope 3 emissions (discussed below). The bill could also have impact well beyond California given the state’s ambitious climate policies and the number of large companies that do business in California.