by: Stephen Bay, Tauni Berger, Greg Cesare, Zach Harmer | April 8, 2024
North American Carbon World (NACW) is North America’s premier event on carbon markets. NACW 2024 gathered industry leaders and professionals to learn, collaborate, and network on carbon markets and climate policy. Below are four key insights our team took away from the event:
Releasing Criteria Standards Will Unlock Action.
- The voluntary market has experienced challenges as it has expanded over the past several years from a nascent market into a growth phase and, in some areas, an evolving compliance market. A theme of this year’s NACW involved how key market players, including registries, developers, investors, and buyers, were hopeful that the Integrity Council for Voluntary Carbon Markets (ICVCM’s) announcement of approved methodologies for Core Carbon Principles would energize demand. ICVCM has since announced the approved programs and will be releasing rolling approvals of methodologies in the near future. Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) approved registries are stymied and awaiting decisions regarding corresponding adjustments. The sentiment at the conference was that as soon as either of these bodies finalize their approvals, it will help to resume momentum and reinvigorate the market as clarity and public confidence increase.
Climate Policy is On the Rise Throughout the U.S.
- Policymakers throughout the U.S. have been busy in the climate policy space. From multiple significant funding opportunities to states building out new or enhancing previous climate action plans, we are in a new era of climate policy action. This was reflected through the plethora of policy-focused sessions at NACW 2024 and the significant presence of policymakers at the event. A notable trend in climate policy has been increased interest in market-based policies like California’s Cap-and-Trade program. Washington launched a Cap-and-Invest program in 2023, and since then, several other states have been developing or looking into similar programs; the list includes New York, Maryland, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Oregon.
- ClimeCo’s Zach Harmer, Sr. Policy Manager, led a heavily attended workshop focused on “Updates & Trends in State-Level Climate Action,” which dove into recent statistics and trends in State Climate policies. ClimeCo will be hosting a webinar on climate policy in the U.S. and Europe in May – keep an eye out for the announcement.
Policy Advocates Express Concerns Around Urgency to Implement Climate Policy.
- A consistent theme voiced throughout the Path 2 policy presentations was trepidation and impatience that we don’t have time to perfect climate policies and wait to implement action. Climate emergencies continue to expand in terms of frequency, magnitude, costs, and social impacts. As a result, delays in implementing climate policy could increase the risk of positive feedback loops in the public, where we lose the public’s support for climate mitigation costs as everyday costs in consumers’ lives increase.
Insetting and Scope 3 Emissions are On Everyone’s Mind.
- While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may have pivoted away from including Scope 3 emissions in their disclosure framework, companies are acutely aware of the inevitability that they will need to account for those emissions in the long run. Companies are grappling with incentivizing suppliers to decarbonize their emissions and determining who can claim the resulting emissions reduction or low-carbon product claims. Companies are evaluating the interconnection between voluntary carbon market solutions and value chain reduction solutions in relation to their declared carbon reduction targets. Technology solutions are emerging to further address the ownership and tracking of environmental attributes from reductions in a company’s value chain.
To access the recording of the panel discussion titled “Role of the VCM for Meeting Net-Zero Targets – Part I: Bringing High Integrity Credits to Market,” featuring Derek Six, Chief Operating Officer of ClimeCo, please click here.
About ClimeCo
ClimeCo is a global sustainability company headquartered in Pennsylvania, with projects and partners all over the world. Our mission is to advance the low-carbon future and restore nature with market-based solutions. We offer comprehensive services spanning environmental asset innovation, ESG and climate strategy consulting, regulatory and policy advisory, environmental credits, API solutions, and climate action certification programs.
Our growing team of respected scientists and industry experts collaborate with companies of all sizes, governmental groups, NGOs, and capital markets players on ESG, decarbonization, and policy issues—allowing us to develop high-quality, purpose-built end-to-end sustainability solutions with measurable impact. We are steadfastly committed to educating and empowering our clients, no matter where they are in their sustainability journey, to be confident in a rapidly evolving marketplace.
Take your climate initiatives to new heights by collaborating with ClimeCo. Contact us at
+1 484.415.0501, info@climeco.com, or through our website climeco.com.
