voluntary carbon markets

In late September, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission or CFTC) approved final guidance regarding the listing of voluntary carbon credit (VCC) derivative contracts on CFTC-regulated designated contract markets (Final Guidance).  Commission observers had anticipated issuance of the Final Guidance for several months, as it follows proposed guidance issued by CFTC in December 2023.  The Final Guidance also follows the Biden Administration’s Joint Policy Statement on Voluntary Carbon Market Principles, discussed in our post earlier this year.  The Final Guidance, while applicable to derivative (or futures) contracts, represents the first official action by a U.S. regulator to help validate the integrity of the VCCs underlying such contracts.  In this vein, as the derivative contract and underlying VCC markets continue to expand and evolve, the Final Guidance may represent an integrity backstop of sorts for U.S. VCC market participants.   Continue Reading CFTC Guidance: A Potential Integrity Backstop for Evolving Voluntary Carbon Market

On May 28, the Biden-Harris Administration issued the Voluntary Carbon Markets Joint Policy Statement and Principles (Policy Statement).  You can find Covington’s analysis of the Policy Statement here.  Jointly announced by the U.S. Secretaries of Treasury, Agriculture, and Energy, and senior White House climate officials, the Policy Statement describes a three-pronged approach to responsible carbon market development and participation: (1) credit or supply integrity, including protections regarding climate and environmental justice; (2) demand integrity, to ensure the credible use of credits; and (3) market-level integrity, including facilitating efficient market participation and lowering transaction costs.  The Policy Statement builds on other recent federal actions, including the Commodities Futures Trading Commission’s 2023 proposed guidance for voluntary carbon credit derivatives and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s final climate risk disclosure rule, which requires certain disclosures related to carbon offset purchases, in the Administration’s attention to and elevation of the voluntary carbon market as an important element in the nation’s climate policy. 

In this post, we dive deeper into the voluntary carbon market landscape, implications for business, and additional recent developments. Continue Reading Engaging in Voluntary Carbon Markets: Overview of Key Developments, Risks, and Opportunities

What You Need to Know. 

  • “We very much believe and respect the science,” said COP28 President Al Jaber on Monday after it had been reported that he had earlier commented that there was “no science” behind requiring the phase-out of fossil fuels to limit global warming to 1.5C. President Al Jaber went on to say that “the phase down and the phase out of fossil fuel is inevitable.”  This statement comes after heavy criticism from climate activists and scientists of President Al Jaber’s earlier comments, further emphasizing the centrality of the “phase down” vs. “phase out” debate as a wedge issue at this COP.

Continue Reading COP28 Day 5 Recap: Climate Finance Continues to Grow and Carbon Offsets Face More Regulation

On March 30, the Integrity Council for Voluntary Carbon Markets (ICVCM),  an independent governance body that aims to set and maintain a global standard for quality in the voluntary carbon market, announced the launch of its Core Carbon Principles. The Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) are intended to establish fundamental principles for high-quality carbon credits that create a verifiable climate impact, based on the latest science and best practice. On the same day, ICVCM also issued the Program-level Assessment Framework and the Assessment Procedures, both designed to assist carbon-crediting programs in verifying that such programs and the credits that they issue comply with the CCPs.  Given the role that ICVCM has assumed in recent discussions concerning integrity in the voluntary carbon market (VCM), the CCPs and related Program-level Assessment Framework and Assessment Procedures are likely to draw significant attention from stakeholders at all stages of the VCM-supply chain. Continue Reading ICVCM Launches Core Carbon Principles for Voluntary Carbon Market

The European Union (“EU”) is coming closer to adopting mandatory rules for companies that use carbon credits.

  • First, the European Parliament and Council are considering for adoption a Commission for a Regulation on a Carbon Removal Certification Framework (“CRCF Regulation Proposal”).

These two regulatory initiatives are closely tied to each other.  In effect, the draft ESRS that the Commission is considering for adoption require subject entities to disclose GHG removals and GHG mitigation projects financed through carbon credits.

The EU’s aim of regulating carbon credits coincides with its push for carbon neutrality by 2050, and a related significant proliferation of companies publicly committing to achieve “net-zero” emissions by mid-century, which has triggered an uptick in strategic purchases of carbon credits in the voluntary carbon market (“VCM”). The CRCF Regulation Proposal and the upcoming ESRS will help to expand sustainable and verified carbon removals and encourage investment in technological innovation.   

Companies turning to the VCM to reach their net zero goals, and others active in the generation, trading, and use of carbon credits, will want to follow these initiatives closely.  Opportunities remain for companies to express views that may shape the final contours of these regulations.Continue Reading The EU’s Emerging Mandatory Disclosure and Certification Rules for Carbon Credits