2023-03-14 22:56
Wildlife conservation can significantly contribute to the management of forests for carbon storage, as animals play a crucial role in shaping ecosystem structure and function at various scal… Read More
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The Climate Trust | Invest With Purpose Blog
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For over 15 years, The Climate Trust has been a quality leader in the carbon market. Our blog covers work that helps to arrest the rise in greenhouse gas emissions and that avoids the most dangerous impacts of climate change. We focus on project implement
2023-02-01 00:06
Carbon Markets Should Not Ignore Avoidance Methane Offsets
Carbon market hot terms over the past few years have included “removal,” “nature-based solutions”… Read More
2023-01-24 17:32
Last week, the analytics firm Trove Research published a webinar summarizing the performance of the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) over the past year and predicting future performance in 2023… Read More
2022-12-21 19:19
The fifteenth meeting of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity conference in Montreal, Canada convened governments from around the world with the goal of developing the post… Read More
2022-12-15 00:10
Urban forests have untapped potential to mitigate the effects of climate change. In thecontiguous US alone, urban forests store over 643 million tonnes of carbon, 3.2% of the totalforest car… Read More
2022-12-07 19:30
Age-class and carbon storage are positively correlated across forests in the PNW.
The forests of the Pacific Northwest Coast Range and Western Cascades are some of the most productive in the… Read More
2022-12-01 20:22
Yesterday, California’s Air Resources Board held a public workshop to discuss the forest offset protocol and emerging science. Big takeaways from a series of presentations by pro… Read More
2022-11-23 00:33
While many carbon market participants were hoping for clarified UN guidance surrounding carbon trading at this year’s Conference of the Parties (COP), it was not to be. Few major… Read More
2022-11-15 20:40
Reduction credits (also referred to as avoided emissions) are a key feature of Article 6 negotiations underway at the 27th COP in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt [1] which may carryover to… Read More
2022-11-09 19:42
The phrase “high quality, high integrity” offsets is repeatedly used by project developers, rating agencies, and end users; all seeking to define what constitutes a real and addi… Read More
2022-11-03 23:20
Maintaining and increasing carbon storage in family forests is crucial to meeting the country’s target of reducing net GHG emissions by 50% below 2005 levels by 2030 [1]. Family-owned… Read More
2022-10-28 18:40
Welcome back to TCT’s Scorcher series. We took a break for the summer, but we’re back with a weekly update on carbon markets and climate finance.
The Bottom Line: Voluntary… Read More
2022-09-29 21:08
Welcome back to TCT’s Scorcher series. We took a break for the summer, but we’re back with a weekly update on carbon markets and climate finance.
The Climate Trust was recently s… Read More
2022-06-02 21:10
The carbon market is a solid foundation to value ecosystem restoration, species conservation, and community resilience.
As The Climate Trust concludes its series highlighting the beyond-clim… Read More
2022-05-17 00:01
Building off our previous Scorcher on mangroves [1], this segment dives deeper into the possibilities of blue carbon by discussing the potential for kelp forests to be leveraged as a cl… Read More
2022-05-16 23:58
TCT’s recent scorchers have highlighted some co-benefits that can be achieved with nature-based carbon projects including enhanced water quality, reduced soil erosion, and a host of so… Read More
2022-05-03 20:01
Much of the discussion around nature-based carbon offsets surrounds terrestrial forests and grasslands. However, coastal wetlands are a rapidly disappearing ecosystem that can sequester up t… Read More
2022-04-26 21:43
The topic of GHG emission reductions versus removals has been a contentious issue of late. Responding to rising demand for removals driven at least in part by the adoption of SBTi emission r… Read More
2022-04-12 16:16
Avoided conversion of grassland projects are significant for protecting organic soil carbon, but also avert significant environmental degradation. Grasslands cover roughly 30% of the planet… Read More
2022-04-08 17:17
This series has considered the important role of carbon sequestration projects in protecting forest water quality and grassland biodiversity. Social and community impacts are… Read More
2022-03-30 16:07
As carbon markets continue to mature, many offset purchasers are looking to maximize the positive impact of their purchase. This is also why The Climate Trust prioritizes nature- based clima… Read More
2022-03-21 19:13
Over the last few years, there have been a series of articles criticizing forest carbon offset projects. Specifically, they have criticized a limited set of Improved Forest Management (IFM)… Read More
2022-03-21 17:26
Nature-based carbon offset projects produce myriad co-benefits that advance climate change adaptation and resilience goals in addition providing cost-effective GHG mitigation. Over the next… Read More
2022-03-08 00:42
Many carbon offset projects are supported by carbon finance based on future offset supply, making it challenging to gauge what socio-economic impacts will be produced in forward-looking time… Read More
2022-03-03 16:57
Carbon offset methodologies are designed to evolve in response to the changing realities, capabilities, and new science. Two prominent registries, the American Carbon Registry (ACR) and the… Read More
2022-02-21 21:21
This blog has recently covered the various ways that additionality is calculated in forest carbon projects. We have drawn attention to the differences in how landowner demographics are treat… Read More
2022-02-16 17:51
In the fall of 2021, a petition was filed to exclude biomethane derived fuels from dairy and swine manure in California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard Program (LCFS). Critics argued that t… Read More
2022-02-08 17:10
It has been assumed that the validity of forest and other carbon offset projects as a method for decreasing net carbon emissions hinges on the concept of additionality. Additionality refers… Read More
2022-02-01 01:06
A recently launched partnership aims to increase the accessibility of climate finance for Indigenous Peoples, Traditional Owners, and Local Communities (IPLC). The Peoples Forests Partnershi… Read More
2022-01-28 20:58
As interest in digital carbon tokens grows, ensuring integrity and transparency is as important as ever. Last week, the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) announced the… Read More
2022-01-28 20:53
On Tuesday, January 18, the USDA Forest Service and Biden administration unveiled a 10-year strategy to mitigate the worst effects of wildfires. The strategy leverages $3 billion in fu… Read More
2022-01-11 18:34
Washington state’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA) is set to begin January 1, 2023, providing another source of offset demand. The program will cap industrial facilities, fuel suppliers… Read More
2021-12-20 18:17
On December 16, the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) voted 3-1 to establish a statewide Climate Protection Program. This measure puts Oregon on track to cut its c… Read More
2021-12-13 19:18
On Wednesday, President Biden signed the executive order, “Catalyzing America’s Clean Energy Economy Through Federal Sustainability”. Among the many goals set forth in the… Read More
2021-12-11 01:07
Over the past year, participation in voluntary carbon markets has rapidly increased, causing rising prices and a dwindling supply of offsets. At the same time, there are several speculators… Read More
2021-11-22 17:28
As the need for more nature-based climate solutions grows, blue carbon has become widely recognized for its burgeoning potential in the carbon offset market space. Blue carbon is a term used… Read More
2021-11-15 18:16
Although the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015, a key segment of its regulations was unfinished until a few days ago. Disagreements surrounding Article 6 of the Agreement stymied clim… Read More
2021-11-15 18:14
The last few weeks have been big for forests and forest carbon. At COP 26 in Glasgow,Scotland, 110 world leaders including those from Brazil, China, Russia and the United States committed $1… Read More
2021-11-05 20:27
Oregon’s Executive Order 20-04: Climate Protection Program is nearing its final round of changes and recently completed its public comment period on October 25th. The proposed program… Read More
2021-10-25 22:41
Washington State’s Cap-and-Invest bill provides a smart and meaningful solution to address environmental justice concerns while also allowing the use of carbon offsets to partially mee… Read More
2021-10-19 17:17
To support rapid rates of decarbonization in line with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target, it’s estimated that voluntary action through carbon markets will need to increase 1… Read More
2021-10-12 18:11
The concept of additionality has been a tricky issue for carbon markets and some of this tension has been reflected in recent criticisms of improved forest management (IFM) projects. This ma… Read More
2021-10-11 20:39
Under the California Air Resource Board (ARB) forest carbon methodology and others, each AFOLU carbon project deposits 10-20% of each issuance’s total credits to the buffer pool. The p… Read More
2021-10-08 18:25
Co-benefits of natural climate solutions (NCS) carbon offsets have always generated a premium price. This is because buyers can associate their carbon purchase with those co-benefits, but th… Read More
2021-10-08 18:24
Amidst a summer of dispiriting climate change news, the passage of the Growing Climate Solutions Act through the U.S. Senate provided a much-needed glimmer of hope. With a 92-8 vote, the bil… Read More
2021-05-28 16:31
After five years as Chief Investment Officer, and three years in co-leadership, Kristen Kleiman will be departing The Climate Trust to embark on her next professional chapter. Her last day w… Read More
2021-05-07 16:45
Last week, President Biden announced sharply more aggressive goals for reducing the US’s GHG emissions. Along with announcing his “30 by 30” goal and the dismissal of… Read More
2021-05-07 16:44
In March, the USDA issued a request for public comment on how the agency can best support emerging carbon markets where agriculture and forestry can supply carbon benefits. This request is p… Read More
2021-03-29 21:21
Since the start of 2021, the demand for voluntary carbon offsets has increased dramatically with signs of more growth ahead. Supply will need to keep up with demand, which will likely requir… Read More
2021-03-15 19:01
Canadian Government Advances Federal Offset Program
On March 5, 2021 the Canadian government released the framework for its Federal Offset System which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emi… Read More
2021-03-01 22:21
The Earth’s climate is already changing and as we continue to work on reducing emissions and removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, we should also be prioritizing climate adapt… Read More
2021-02-16 22:13
Interest in voluntary carbon offsets is increasing. As buyers make their first forays into the market, they should not differentiate between avoidance and removal credits. Removal offsets ar… Read More
2021-02-08 18:30
There’s a saying – dubiously attributable to Winston Churchill – that Americans will always do the right thing, after exhausting all the alternatives. Although a… Read More
2021-02-02 00:05
On January 28, General Motors, the largest U.S. automaker announced it plans to be carbon neutral by 2040. The plan highlights the appropriate use of carbon offsets in balance with direct em… Read More
2021-01-19 18:47
Despite commitments from over a decade ago to reduce greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, results have been underwhelming at best. A recent… Read More
2020-12-21 19:18
Forest carbon offsets offer much more than GHG mitigation.
As 2020 draws to a close, the United Nations projects our present greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will result in a 3 to 5-degree Cel… Read More
2020-12-14 20:37
In early November, I attended a webinar hosted by Carbon Pulse that explored the notion that carbon allowance and offset markets should be treated as an asset class. At The Climate Trust, we… Read More
2020-12-08 00:01
President Elect Biden selected Senator John Kerry to fill a new position dedicated to fighting climate change, signaling a promising sign for carbon pricing.
President Elect Biden selected S… Read More
2020-11-30 20:51
The voluntary market undoubtedly needs to scale, but its unclear whether the commodification of offsets will be sufficient.
With growing recognition that direct emission reductions alone are… Read More
2020-11-16 22:53
Last week there was a lightness among friends and colleagues. After four years of frustration with US policies focused on undermining climate change policy and science, there was cautious op… Read More
2020-11-09 22:14
Last Wednesday marked the United States’ official withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement. Angola, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, South Sudan, Turkey, and Yemen are the only other countries… Read More
2020-11-05 21:26
Despite the pandemic, corporate commitments to net zero greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow. Seventeen companies made such commitments last month during Climate Week, and now countries… Read More
2020-10-27 17:12
Last month, The Climate Action Reserve’s Board of Directors approved the adoption of the Soil Enrichment Protocol. The development of the protocol aligns with growing attention to the… Read More
2020-10-19 18:31
There is a woeful lack of climate change action at the federal level, but states are again taking the lead on ways to address climate change in aggressive, cost effective ways. Below i… Read More
2020-10-12 16:17
Last week, climate change was the theme of Land Trust Alliance’s annual conference. One of the most under-appreciated benefits of nature-based climate solutions and carbon offset proje… Read More
2020-10-06 22:08
The western United States is facing another difficult year of wildfires. Earlier this month, Oregon had more acres burn in one week that it normally does in an entire year. Tragically, the L… Read More
2020-09-21 19:23
The Climate Trust is excited to announce its collaboration with the Land Trust Alliance (LTA) on a Grasslands Carbon Development program. The program is a collaboration between the two non-p… Read More
2020-09-14 19:46
As this summer’s horrific fire season rages, a report commissioned by the Trump administration’s bipartisan Commodity Futures Trading Commission warns of financial upheaval due t… Read More
2020-06-30 16:41
In early June, The Growing Climate Solutions Act was introduced by Senators Mike Braun (R-IN.), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI.), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). The bill propose… Read More
2020-06-23 21:29
The carbon offset market, like every market, has been volatile since March 2020. Although there have been periods of uncertainty around carbon offsets in the past – suspension of… Read More
2020-06-16 19:37
The Climate Trust works to fund emission reduction projects to lessen the impacts of climate change for future generations. But, we know, and can’t ignore the fact that low income and… Read More
2020-06-16 19:34
Climate Action Reserve’s (CAR) Climate Forward program has excellent potential to incentivize reforestation with carbon finance, but the program’s Forecasted Mitigation Units (FM… Read More
2020-06-01 20:46
The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) has been hailed as a positive contribution to the carbon offset market. CORSIA was originally designed to requi… Read More
2020-05-27 22:48
In March 2020, Oregon’s Governor Brown signed Executive Order 20-04, directing state agencies to take actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The order sets the state’s green… Read More
2020-05-18 16:34
2020 seem poised to be the year the voluntary offset market would take a big leap forward. It was almost daily that new companies were announcing carbon reduction plans and companies with lo… Read More
2020-05-11 21:55
Interest in carbon offsets has undoubtedly grown over the past few years. Much of the new demand is for nature-based climate solutions (Ecosystem Marketplace 2019) like forestry or grassland… Read More
2020-05-04 22:38
Worldwide greenhouse gas emissions are expected to drop by 8% this year; the drop can largely be attributed to decreased energy demand related to Covid-19. We have all seen the photographs o… Read More
2020-04-27 19:22
A new report issued by ClimateXChange.org (CXC) studied California’s cap and trade program over the past seven years and concludes that the benefits of the program outweigh the costs b… Read More
2020-04-20 18:54
It was only a month ago that I wrote a post (link below) about the precipitous drop in the price for allowances and offsets in the California compliance market. That piece offered my take on… Read More
2020-04-13 18:06
On March 25, Governor Jay Inslee of Washington State signed HB 2528 into law. The bill, titled Forest Products Sector—Climate Response Contributions, is primarily an acknowledgement of… Read More
2020-04-07 18:58
Talks of Covid-19’s impact on carbon offset demand and price has been on the forefront of carbon market conversation. Fortunately, offset projects are not directly impacted by Covid-19… Read More
2020-03-30 19:12
When my children were younger, they asked for things. A lot. Like most parents the answer was mostly, no and sometimes, yes. For the really big asks, there were conditions. … Read More
2020-03-23 15:53
The covid19 pandemic has brought economic growth to a halt. China saw its industrial output decline by double digits in January and February. Volatile is an understatement for the fluctuatio… Read More
2020-03-23 15:52
Ever since the UN International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) announced the development of the Carbon Offsetting Scheme for International Aviation, better known as CORSIA, the big quest… Read More
2020-03-09 21:05
Starting in 2021, new offset usage regulations go into effect under the California Cap and Trade program. The intent of these new provisions is to encourage the purchase of offsets that &nbs&hell…Read More
2020-03-02 20:32
Admittedly, discussions around fiduciary duty are apt to cause one’s eyes to glaze over. But the evolving interpretation of the definition of fiduciary duty has the potential to… Read More
2020-02-24 20:19
Regenerative agriculture is creating quite a buzz in the news and in the sustainability and carbon sectors as of late. However, while regenerative agriculture can include a wide variety of p… Read More
2020-02-18 20:30
Larry Fink’s announcement that Blackrock will integrate climate risks into its investment decision-making process made a big news splash, but it also seems like part of a larger trend… Read More
2020-02-14 22:27
Grasslands store up to 20% of the world’s soil organic carbon (SOC). This pool of carbon is under constant threat of loss through land conversion and soil disturbance. The United State… Read More
2020-02-03 20:38
As most of you have probably read, Larry Fink, CEO of Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, went on the record a few weeks ago saying that investors ignore climate change risks… Read More
2020-01-27 19:23
The start of the year is always a time for taking stock and then looking forward. When it comes to carbon policy and markets there are several positive emerging trends that The Climate Trust… Read More
2020-01-22 21:47
Climate Forward’s Reforestation Project Forecast Methodology is currently in review after receiving public comments in 2019. The methodology will award Forecasted Mitigation Unit… Read More
2020-01-14 18:30
House Bill 2020 – an Oregon cap-and-trade inspired bill– was expected to be an easy win for Oregon Democrats in 2019. But after outcry from influential industry groups, a Republi… Read More
2020-01-06 22:38
Carbon Offsets align well with Sustainable Development Goals
The Climate Trust’s mission of reducing greenhouse gases through carbon offset project development sounds quite broad. But… Read More
2019-12-16 22:10
Since 2006 Ecosystem Marketplace has been releasing an annual review of the voluntary carbon market. The report is a much-anticipated document because it aggregates transactional data that i… Read More
2019-12-16 22:09
Pacific Northwest wildfires have been increasing in severity and size each year as a result of the changing climate. As the threat of wildfire increases, we find ourselves short of funding f… Read More
2019-11-26 18:21
Grassland carbon offset projects can provide financial support to protect vibrant ecosystems, while maintaining ranching on the project land and the communities that depend on it. To date, o… Read More
2019-11-20 19:30
Last week’s Scorcher talked about the voluntary carbon market’s Trump “bump” which explained how states and companies are addressing climate change in light of the US… Read More
2019-11-12 23:04
Is the carbon market experiencing a Trump Bump? Strange as it might seem there is evidence that the answer is yes. The Trump Administration’s aggressive anti-climate stance and moves t… Read More
2019-11-12 23:03
While the Department of Justice’s lawsuit targeting California and the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) may make it more expensive for greenhouse gas polluters to cut emissions, it doe… Read More
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