Update: Road to COP26

OPTIMISE MARKET
Designing carbon markets for highest impact 

From Article 6.2 and 6.4 to the voluntary carbon market, our focus is the same: To maximise the impact of all carbon finance, positioning markets to deliver meaningful, measurable contributions toward sustainable development and to be a tool for climate justice.

1. Ensure integrity: Voluntary Carbon Market Transition (VCM) Framework

With support from the German Ministry of the Environment, we are developing a transition framework to ensure that the voluntary carbon market maintains its relevance and high-integrity in the post-2020 era.

• Rule requirements to align with the Paris Agreement, including high-quality CDM transition
• Guidance and capacity building for transition to corresponding adjustments, as and when they are required

View the timeline for the VCM Transition Framework programme here. We will also closely track the recommendations from the Task Force to Scale the Voluntary Carbon Market to ensure that efforts to increase the market do not sacrifice critical quality considerations or disincentivise high-impact carbon reduction projects.  

2. Remove barriers to scale: Digital Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV)

With our official certification partner SustainCERT, we are working to pilot and scale new ways to monitor impact to get better impact data more efficiently.

• Piloting next generation MRV to quantify carbon reductions in renewable energy and community based projects and removals in land use activities
• SDG Impact Tools to standardise and streamline SDG impact reporting, launching for public consultation in January 2021

IMPLEMENT CORPORATE AMBITION
High-integrity tools to enable companies to achieve Net Zero

Having published Corporate Climate Stewardship guidelines with WWF and CDP in 2018 that codified the expectation for companies to reduce emissions in line with what science indicates is needed to reach global net zero targets AND finance reductions beyond their corporate boundaries, we are scaling our high-integrity carbon credit portfolio and introducing new tools that allow companies to meet their climate targets.

1. Reduce within corporate boundaries: Solutions to reduce Scope 3 emissions and credibly report to GHG Protocol + Science Based Targets

• Value Change initiative to reduce emissions from interventions within the value chain
• Certified low carbon commodities from ISEAL standards to lower carbon footprint of purchased goods

2. Finance beyond corporate boundaries: Market instruments to accelerate progress to global net zero emissions

• High impact carbon credits
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• Best practices for using carbon credits as part of a corporate climate strategy, including claims guidance, with WWF
  

CATALYSE CLIMATE FINANCE
Advocacy + solutions for public and private sector investment

Gold Standard maintains that progress reported toward Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and impact investments must meet high standards of safeguards, stakeholder inclusivity and robust climate and development impact quantification. We’re working with developed and developing country governments to raise the bar for climate finance and measuring outcomes, as well as pioneering new blended finance mechanisms to catalyse high-impact climate finance.

1. For governments: Ensure impact in use of Articles 6 + 9 to meet NDCs

• Advocacy for the inclusion of sustainable development principles through the Sustainable Development Initiative, co-managed with UNEP-DTU.
• Solutions including:
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2. For investors: Design funds for highest impact and make credible claims on impact investment

• Gold Standard is a member of the Subnational Climate Finance initiative, a consortium including IUCN, R20, BNP Paribas and Pegasus Capital that seeks to catalyse global investments in local action for a sustainable future through blended finance – with support from the Green Climate Fund.