Gold Standard

2023 was a pivotal year for Gold Standard.   We added 376 new projects to our pipeline and reached the milestone of 1,500 fully certified projects since our inception. Gold Standard annual carbon credit issuances grew by 41%, and organisations retired 29 million Gold Standard carbon credits, an increase from 2022, demonstrating continued demand for high-quality carbon credits.     But carbon credits represent more than emission reductions. We also calculate the “shared value” our certified projects deliver through co-benefits for local communities, such as decent work and good health. Along with our partners, Gold Standard projects created a record US$10.3 billion of shared value, bringing our all-time total to US$46 billion. This economic value is calculated as per data from independent research studies.       Other key highlights include:      ❇ Carbon Market   - A record 23 public consultations were published - including innovative methodology concepts for Aircraft Contrails and Coal Decommissioning - and we released six new methodologies. - In a first for the voluntary carbon market, Gold Standard attached Paris Agreement Article 6 authorisation labels to carbon credits on the Gold Standard Impact Registry.      ❇ Sustainable Finance   - The very first funds under our Pilot Impact Portfolio Requirements received design certification.  - Our Pilot Adaptation Requirements and guidance documents received key updates, and we ran adaptation workshops in Ecuador, South Africa and Portugal.      ❇ Corporate Climate Action   - The first iteration of our Fairly Contributing to Global Net Zero Framework and Claims Guidelines were released.   - The Advanced and Indirect Mitigation (AIM) Platform was established by Gold Standard and partners, serving as a hub for removing barriers to ‘value chain’ mitigation.      We thank all our partners, supporters and collaborators for their dedication, ambition, and support throughout 2023.      But is still plenty more to be achieved!      Our work for 2024 is well underway, and we look forward to working with our partners to achieve great things again this year. Together, we can make real progress towards Climate Security and Sustainable Development for all. Download our Annual Report for 2023 here: https://lnkd.in/er8mfUdd

🌍 The Health Benefits of Clean Cooking Have Been Long Overlooked 🌍 A recent article from The Economist highlights the severe health risks of indoor air pollution from cooking with solid fuels like wood or charcoal. These lead to a higher likelihood of childhood pneumonia, heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and more. Nearly 2.3 billion people, about 28% of the global population, rely on these cooking methods, leading to almost 4 million premature deaths annually. The downsides are compounded when considering environmental impact like deforestation, and the fact that about 2% of climate damaging emissions can be attributed to wood burning. Despite these insights and the documented benefits, clean cooking initiatives are underfunded and difficult to scale as domestic cooking is seen as outside the “productive economy”. This is where the carbon market could offer a viable solution and while doing so address a few challenges at once. The Role of Carbon Credits in Advancing Clean Cooking: • High Additionality: Carbon credits provide essential finance, accelerating the market uptake of efficient cookstoves that wouldn’t be rolled out otherwise. • Global Impact: Clean cooking solutions contribute to multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including health, education, gender equality, and poverty reduction. • Flexible Funding: Carbon finance allows for investments in projects that go beyond companies’ value chains, addressing a crucial gap in traditional funding mechanisms. By supporting clean cooking projects through carbon credits, businesses and individuals can help reduce indoor air pollution, protect forests, as well as improve health outcomes, particularly for women and children. Please click the link to read the article in in full https://lnkd.in/e4yRHNNJ

Thoughtful leadership from WWF - smart mechanisms to enact value chain abatement with strictly no conflation with beyond value chain mitigation and offsetting.   Three things to deliver integrity:   1 - Companies must take responsibility for 100% of their emissions. Scope 3 targets are currently limited to 67% coverage due to perceived impracticality. With mechanisms to resolve these issues companies must move to 100%.   2 - Value chain mechanisms must focus on impact; no more attribute shuffling or cheap certificates that have little benefit. They must also include for safeguarding, engagement and sustainable development, as Paris and other voluntary mechanisms have recently begun to do.   3 - The voluntary carbon market, as part of Beyond Value Chain Mitigation (BVCM) must hold the moral high line and be the mechanism holding all of the above to account. This is undermined, along with the reputation of the VCM, where scope 3 targets and the use of unrelated credits are conflated.   We wrote on these topics in the weeks leading up to LCAW, you can find our detailed thoughts:  https://lnkd.in/e78zn7FK #scope3 #carbonmarkets #corporateresponsibility https://lnkd.in/ezBJ3zDd

📅 Less than a week to go! Gold Standard’s new Carbon Markets Regulations Tracker, developed by South Pole, increases visibility on regulations in over 30 jurisdictions globally. Our webinar will present the Regulations Tracker and hear reflections and experiences from our partners on key trends in national regulations, their implications for different market actors, and new developments to look out for. Speakers: • Moderator: Hugh Salway, Gold Standard • Presenter: Daniel Sachadonig, South Pole • Panellists: Kavya Bajaj, Gold Standard; Karolien Casaer-Diez, South Pole; Greg Lydka Morris, Abatable Join us on Wednesday, 17 July for our webinar on navigating the evolving carbon market landscape. 🕘 Time: 10:00 - 11:00 CEST 🔗 Register here: https://lnkd.in/ghy42vmX #CarbonMarkets #Sustainability #Webinar #ClimateAction #GoldStandard

On World Population Day 2024, the United Nations (UN) has focused on data collection and systems that capture the full range of human diversity so that we "leave no one behind."    While the UN's World Population Database shows clear advancements across the globe—such as the enhancement of health care and improvement of gender equality—there is still a lot more progress needed to meet the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The database also reveals how marginalised communities remain underrepresented in data, which can have significant negative effects on the livelihoods and well-being of millions.  "As the theme of this year’s World Population Day reminds us, investing in data collection is important to understanding problems, tailoring solutions, and driving progress." UN Secretary-General António Guterres   The publicly accessible Gold Standard SDG Impact Dashboard was recently launched, showing the impact data from the climate and sustainable development impacts of Gold Standard-certified projects on the planet and people. Every Gold Standard project must make verified contributions to a minimum of 3 SDGs, with the majority of the benefits from the contributions helping people in marginalised and rural communities.    The dashboard supports the need for increased accessibility and better use of data across environmental markets, leading to better informed decisions by project supporters, investors, and host country governments, and project developers. So more finance can be directed where is it most needed, and leaving no one behind.    Discover our SDG Impact Dashboard for yourself here: https://lnkd.in/eUtS248f You do not need to log in or register to use the dashboard.

🌍 Reminder: It’s Not Too Late to Sign Up for The Innovative Finance Webinar! 🌍 If you haven’t registered, there’s still time to join the Clean Cooking Alliance’s Finance in Action webinar series kick-off event! This webinar will explore how digital innovations are emerging as critical catalysts for advancing clean cooking carbon projects and enhancing efficiency, transparency, and impact. Panel: • Allen Fan, CEO, CarbonHQ • Anantha Karthik Rajagopalan K Rajagopalan, Director of Carbon Programme, UpEnergy Group • Hugh Salway, Senior Director, Market Development and Partnerships, Gold Standard • James Cooper, Head Of Origination – Environmental Products, Mercuria • Olivier Lefebvre, Founder, Climate Solutions consulting • Reshma Shah, Carbon Markets Lead, FSD Africa • Vincent Wierda, Global Energy Lead, United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) Moderator: • Feisal Hussain, Senior Director of Innovative Finance, Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA) Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn from distinguished experts and engage in interactive discussions. Webinar: Digital Innovation Challenge 🗓️ Date: Tuesday (TODAY), 9 July 2024 🕘 Time: 15:00 - 16:30 CEST 🔗 Register here: https://lnkd.in/euHFFdQJ #CleanCooking #InnovativeFinance #Webinar #Sustainability #CarbonMarkets

Invitation to Join Gold Standard’s Carbon Market Training Network  Gold Standard is seeking expressions of interest from organisations that are training carbon market stakeholders to join a new pilot collaboration. Under the pilot, Gold Standard and the participating organisations will co-design and deliver training resources and other forms of support, with the aim of strengthening local expertise in carbon markets and carbon finance. Who are we looking for? Organisations that are either already offering carbon market support to local stakeholders (e.g., project developers and project owners) in project host countries or would like to offer such services in the future.  Why join the pilot? - Receive new resources designed to meet the needs of participating organisations and their local stakeholders  - Access support from Gold Standard and external experts in priority topics  - Peer-to-peer exchange and learning from similar organisations in other countries  The focus areas of the pilot will be defined by the participating organisations. The pilot is expected to run between August 2024 and March 2025.  Apply now to be part of this collaborative initiative to strengthen expertise in carbon markets across countries and regions. https://lnkd.in/ePQRnvqN 📆 Deadline for expressions of interest: 26 July 2024

Gold Standard-issued Verified Emission Reduction (VERs) are eligible for use under four national carbon taxes globally, allowing companies to use VERs to meet some or all of their tax compliance obligations. By taking this route, companies can provide finance for activities delivering certified impact towards climate security and sustainable development, under our internationally-recognised standard. 🌍 A growing number of countries have introduced carbon pricing policies, putting a price on GHG emissions through carbon taxes, emissions trading systems, or other mechanisms. We recently published country-specific guidance documentation for using our credits towards compliance obligations, for Chile, Colombia, Singapore and South Africa. The documents can be found here: https://lnkd.in/eEMSNreJ Gold Standard looks forward to supporting more governments and companies in this area. For more information, please contact our Government Relations Manager, Kavya Bajaj.

If we are to reach global net-zero, then it is vital that companies measure, abate and take responsibility for 100% of their emissions – scopes 1, 2 and 3. Over the last month, we have published a series of blogs on corporate climate responsibility. These cover: The urgent need for corporate action, why we don’t think carbon credits are the answer for scope 3 targets, what action companies should take on their scope 3 emissions, and finally what companies should do if they miss their targets. 🖥️ Join our webinar on 25th July 2024 ⏰14:30 - 15:30 (CEST): 🔗https://lnkd.in/ehYDH2hB If you would like to understand how companies can take responsibility for their ongoing emissions and contribute to our collective journey towards global net-zero then sign up for our webinar, where Gold Standard experts Owen Hewlett and Dan Magrath will demystify the actions required: You can also read the latest iteration of our climate framework at the following link: 🔗https://lnkd.in/eCBk3nsM

In recent years, we have seen increasing convergence between voluntary and compliance markets globally and a more active role for national governments in regulating carbon market mechanisms. Understanding and navigating this evolving context is essential for all market actors.    Gold Standard has launched a new Carbon Markets Regulations Tracker to support this, which includes information and links to regulations in over 30 jurisdictions globally. The tracker, developed by South Pole, aims to increase visibility on regulations for project developers, governments, and other market actors, enabling compliance, informing decision-making, and identifying trends and best practices.     In this webinar, we will present the Regulations Tracker and hear reflections and experiences from our partners on key trends in national regulations, their implications for different market actors, and new developments to look out for.    Moderator:  • Hugh Salway, Senior Director, Market Development and Partnerships, Gold Standard    Presenter:  • Daniel Sachadonig, Consultant, Climate Policy, Finance and Markets, South Pole    Panellists:  • Kavya Bajaj, Government Relations Manager, Gold Standard  • Karolien Casaer-Diez, Global Senior Director, Article 6, South Pole  • Greg Lydka Morris, Policy and Portfolio Manager, Abatable    ️📆 Date: Wednesday, 17 July  🕘 Time: 10:00 - 11:00 CEST  🔗 Register here: https://lnkd.in/ghy42vmX