New Certification Standard Proposed for Climate Offset Products

There is a lot of uncertainty in the voluntary carbon offset market. With no standardized system for verification and certification presently in place in the United States, it is hard for the consumer to be able to judge the quality of the offsets they are purchasing.

This uncertainty has raised the need for a national or state-based certification system. There are several initiatives currently in place. The following article outlines one such program. I encourage you to log onto their website and submit your comments or read their report here. What is important to you in terms of verification and certification offsets? Are all offsets equal? Let them know. But before you do, check out this article:

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 21, 2006 - A new Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Product Certification Standard has been published for stakeholder comment by the Center for Resource Solutions. CRS is developing the new standard with the Green-e GHG Advisory Group, composed of key environmental organizations, government agencies, businesses, and advocacy organizations who work on climate change issues. CRS believes the creation of this draft standard is the first step in ensuring credibility in the marketplace for voluntary GHG reduction products, such as carbon offsets offered to help "neutralize" an individual's or organization's climate impacts. Based on recent press coverage and uncertainty in the marketplace, it is evident that buyers of these products are seeking a higher level of certainty in the market about the quality of products. CRS aims to provide consumer protection to the growing number of individuals and businesses who choose to decrease their own contribution to global warming by purchasing greenhouse gas reductions.

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