All In On Climate: The Role of Carbon Credits in Corporate Climate ... - Forest Trends
All In On Climate: The Role of Carbon Credits in Corporate Climate Strategies - Forest Trends
All In On Climate: The Role of Carbon Credits in Corporate Climate Strategies
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Ecosystem Marketplace is pleased to publish this 2023 report, All In On Climate: The Role of Carbon Credits in Corporate Climate Strategies, which serves as the first major update since 2016 to its landmark “Taking Stock” report series. When initially launched in 2015, the report illuminated for the first time the realities of how companies are (and are not) using carbon credits to address their climate liabilities and to contribute to their comprehensive climate action and management strategies. We’ve revisited this analysis because our global network of carbon markets stakeholders have lately reported to EM an increase in “greenhushing.” Whether in response to media coverage, environmental group criticism, or the challenges of navigating government policies (or all three), companies are publicly dialing back, delaying, or scrapping their carbon credit buying plans.
This report is designed to look specifically at the climate-related behavior of companies that are involved in the voluntary carbon market (VCM) versus those who are not. It should be noted that although we analyzed the data and wrote this report in in mid-2023, it has a retrospective lens and an eye on the future, as the CDP data used is from the 2022 Climate Change dataset, which mostly covers corporate activities in 2021.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”