Seven EU countries have released joint recommendations to improve the integrity of the voluntary carbon market: the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Finland, Belgium and Austria have tabled a framework which aims at preventing greenwashing and restoring integrity in this market segment.
Effective and trustworthy voluntary carbon markets can play a role in supporting faster and more ambitious climate action. However, without robust standards and safeguards, the use of carbon credits can undermine climate action and cause environmental or social harm. Low prices, a lack of transparency and the absence of clear guidance currently risk delaying the urgent near-term mitigation that the market could in fact provide.
At the initiative of the Netherlands, this joint statement was developed to ensure full transparency, high-quality credits and credible claims on the voluntary carbon market. It is designed to help companies making choices in line with the Paris Agreement. They can be adopted immediately by the market – in the long run, they serve as input for frameworks at the EU-level.
Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Germany, said upon the publication of the joint statement: “In order to mobilize the urgently needed investments for a transformation in line with the Paris Agreements goal of keeping 1.5 degrees within reach, we need to establish a carbon market that excludes funding for activities that are not aligned with this goal and encourage companies for investments which serve the 1.5-degree pathway. We cannot afford fictitious transactions. The joint statement on the voluntary carbon market gives guidance for corporates on the use of carbon credits. In a time of high uncertainty, its purpose is to boost integrity both on supply and demand side of the voluntary carbon market by ensuring that climate actions contribute to ambition raising and transformational change.”
Further information
Read the full press release by the Dutch Government:
https://www.government.nl/latest/news/2023/12/10/cop28-netherlands-germany-france- spain-finland-belgium-and-austria-propose-framework-to-prevent-greenwashing-and- restore-integrity-in-voluntary-carbon-markets
Download the text of the joint recommendations at
https://www.government.nl/documents/publications/2023/12/10/joint-statement-on- voluntary-carbon-market