RBI published a position paper on credible CO2 compensation
RBI has published a position paper on what it considers as credible CO2 compensation. The paper explains that voluntary compensation by companies is only credible if it is a supplement to serious measures to achieve emission reduction within the company and its supply chain and not a replacement thereof. It is concluded that the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) offers a valuable instrument to set credible emission reduction targets. We support the view of the SBTi that carbon credits may only to be considered as an option for neutralizing residual emissions beyond the science-based emission reduction targets.
RBI welcomes the input from McKinsey[1] and the Taskforce on Scaling the Voluntary Carbon Market (TSVCM)[2] who call for an ambitious path towards Net-Zero, in which the residual emissions are compensated/neutralized within any given year. That allows companies to make carbon neutral claims on the way to Net-Zero without being vulnerable to accusations of greenwashing. And it makes the path to net zero much more ambitious and effective from a societal point of view. Especially when the phasing out of the use of avoidance credits is the result of halting deforestation, instead of a goal in itself.
[1] Putting carbon markets to work on the path to net zero
[2] High Ambition Path to Net Zero
