GHGemissions

Overview

The GHG Offsets Registry Program procedures are devised and refined based on expert input provided and overseen by standing Advisory Committees.. The GHG Offsets Advisory Committee provides input to the Program Administrator on issues pertaining to all non-Forestry Carbon Sequestration Offset Projects. At the discretion of the Program Administrator, the Advisory committees can be requested to provide input on protocol development, procedure interpretation and refinement, case-by-case review of non-standardized projects, and oversight of technical subcommittees.

Advisory Committee Member Composition

Members of the GHG Offsets Committees are comprised of representatives of Program Participants, academic experts, verification experts, and individuals representing both domestic and international perspectives. Membership of the GHG.

Protocol Development

The GHG Offsets Registry Program may elect to develop a formal, standardized protocol for beyond business-as-usual projects that adhere to best management practices. The design of a draft framework is typically assisted by a technical subcommittee comprised of Program Participants and representatives from governments, non-governmental organizations, academia, and industry experts. Technical subcommittees have been developed to advise on the following protocols:

  • Landfill methane collection and combustion
  • Agriculture methane collection and combustion
  • Avoided methane emissions from organic waste disposal
  • Continuous conservation tillage and cropland to grassland conversion
  • Sustainable rangeland soil carbon sequestration
  • Forestry verification
  • Avoided tropical deforestation
  • Ozone-depleting substance destruction

CDM Methodologies

Unless specific circumstances warrant otherwise, CDM-approved projects may be considered to be eligible to earn Offsets in the GHG Offsets Program, subject to the terms and conditions provided herein: A crosscheck of the CDM Registry shall assure that Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) shall only be used for compliance once.

  1. Projects that are registered at CDM but have generated emission reductions for the time period prior to their acceptance at CDM, but which adhere to the CDM project standards, may be eligible to register in the GHG Offsets Registry Program provided they satisfy program rules.

  2. CDM approval notwithstanding, the following project types are not eligible to be registered in the GHG Offsets Registry Program unless the project also satisfies the Program project methodologies:

    • Hydro power o Forestry
    • CDM-approved projects or methodologies that result in net increases in emissions to the atmosphere (e.g. new fossil fuel fired facilities). Where a project is not CDM approved but uses a CDM project methodology or a methodology other than a GHG Offsets Registry Program Project Protocol, the project must receive an approval by the Program Administrator as outlined in this section above.

The VCS Program provides a robust, new global standard and program for approval of credible voluntary offsets.

VCS offsets must be real (have happened), additional (beyond business-as-usual activities), measurable, permanent (not temporarily displace emissions), independently verified and unique (not used more than once to offset emissions).Standardize and provide transparency and credibility to the voluntary offset market

  • Enhance business, consumer and government confidence in voluntary offsets
  • Create a trusted and tradable voluntary offset credit; the Verified Carbon Unit. (VCU)
  • Stimulate additional investments in emissions reductions and low carbon solutions
  • Experiment and stimulate innovation in emission reduction technologies and offer lessons that can be build into future regulation
  • Provide a clear chain of ownership over voluntary offsets that prevents them being used twice

The Voluntary Carbon Standard

Work to develop the Verified Carbon Standard was initiated by The Climate Group, the International Emissions Trading Association and the World Economic Forum in late 2005. Version 1 of the VCS was released on 28 March 2006 as both a consultation document and a pilot standard for use in the market. VCS version 2 was released in October 2006 as a consultation document and did not replace Version 1 as the market standard. 150 written submissions were received from carbon market stakeholders on VCS versions 1 and 2.

After the release of version 2, a 19 member Steering Committee was established to consider all of the stakeholder comments and develop the final standard. Within the Committee seven technical working groups provided advice on VCS governance, additionality, validation and verification, registries, land use change and forestry, general policy issues and performance standards.
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development joined the initiative as a founding partner in 2007. After two years of work, VCS 2007 was released on 19 November 2007.