VCMI at COP26 roundup – Delivering high-integrity, inclusive voluntary carbon markets
At COP26, VCMI has worked to ensure that integrity and equity are at the forefront of the voluntary carbon market debate. With widespread support for our work from countries, companies, NGOs, and other initiatives operating in related fields, COP26 has given further momentum to our work.
Please find below the highlights from our work over the last few weeks.
But these discussions are just the beginning – now the real work starts. Over the coming months, we look forward to collaborating as we continue implementing the VCMI Roadmap.
Tuesday 2 Nov – VCMI Co-Chair Tariye Gbadegesin at the World Leaders Summit
Joined by His Excellency Sher Bahadur Deuba, Prime Minister of Nepal, Alan Jope, CEO of Unilever, and Jennifer Tauli-Corpuz, Global Policy and Advocacy Lead at Nia Tero, VCMI Co-Chair Tariye Gbadegesin took to the main stage of the COP26 World Leaders Summit to discuss critical issues in channelling high integrity finance to protecting and restoring nature.
Outlining the work of VCMI, Tariye said: “Our role at VCMI is to raise the bar right across the market. Enabling a level playing field, in which all buyers are clear on the role that high integrity voluntary carbon markets can play in keeping 1.5 alive.”
Wednesday 3 Nov – VCMI: Delivering High-Integrity, Inclusive Voluntary Carbon Markets for 1.5
VCMI Steering Committee member Manuel Pulgar Vidal hosted Wednesday’s key voluntary carbon markets event – Delivering High-Integrity, Inclusive Voluntary Carbon Markets for 1.5.
With Indigenous Peoples bringing attention to the importance of their rights in the voluntary carbon markets ahead of and at the event, Manuel and other VCMI Steering Committee members – Tariye Gbadegesin, Rachel Kyte, and Usha Rao-Monari – outlined the importance of rights holders in delivering high-integrity, inclusive voluntary carbon markets.
In discussing this critical issue, they were joined by many key stakeholders and rights holders, including the Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor, Ghana’s Minister for Lands & Natural Resources, Hindou Ibrahim, Coordinator of the Association of Peul Women and Autochthonous Peoples of Chad, and Teresa Anderson, Climate Policy Coordinator at Action Aid.
Talking in support of VCMI, Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor, Ghana’s Minister for Lands & Natural Resources, said: “The voluntary nature of this market, however, makes most transactions in the market more volatile, unstable, unsustainable, unreliable, unaccounted for, and lacking credibility. The introduction of the VCMI is therefore very timely and highly commendable. It presents us with a unique opportunity to stimulate the delivery of verified emissions reductions units with credibility and integrity, and within well-defined international and national frameworks that provide the maximum benefits to both supply and demand actors, while promoting environmental integrity and sustainable development, particularly for Indigenous Peoples and local communities.”
If you missed it, you can watch the full session here.
Wednesday 3 Nov – VCMI Co-Chair Rachel Kyte talking with Channel 4 News
VCMI Co-Chair Rachel Kyte spoke with Channel 4 News’s Simon Roach on how to bring integrity and equity to the voluntary carbon markets. You can watch the full piece here.
Friday 5 Nov – VCMI Co-Chair Tariye Gbadegesin speaks at Green Horizons Summit
Last Friday, VCMI Co-Chair Tariye Gbadegesin joined Climate Impact’s Mikkel Larsen, LSE’s Lord Prof Nicholas Stern, and Reuters’s Jake Spring to discuss how carbon credits should be claimed by businesses and ensure equitable, NDC-enabling access to voluntary carbon markets.
Speaking at the event, Tariye said: “VCMI has been set up to manage this very careful tightrope where capital blends with nature and supports humanity.”
Saturday 6 Nov – VCMI Co-Chair Rachel Kyte joins Unilever’s Scaling Investments in Nature Climate Solutions: the Integrity Imperative
On Saturday, VCMI Co-Chair Rachel Kyte joined Unilever to discuss how integrity can and must be built into investment in natural climate solutions.
Talking alongside Unilever, a leader in high integrity use of carbon credits, Rachel said: “We must find a way to reward those that are doing things right.”
Monday 8 Nov – VCMI Co-Executive Director Mark Kenber joins Bloomberg Live
On Monday, VCMI Co-Executive Director Mark Kenber joined Bloomberg Green’s Jess Shankleman and University of Oxford’s Myles Allen to deep dive into how voluntary carbon markets can enable action to keep 1.5C alive.
Tuesday 9 Nov – Mark Kenber joins Nordic Dialogues at COP26
On Tuesday, Mark Kenber joined World Resources Institute’s Helen Mountford, Nordea’s Matti Kahra, and Finnish Climate Fund’s Kari Hämekoski to discuss how the net zero transition transforms the role of voluntary markets and the work being done to ensure they deliver towards the Paris Agreement temperature goal.
Wednesday 10 Nov – Mark Kenber joins IETA Business Hub
To close out VCMI’s activity at COP26, on Wednesday, Mark Kenber joined Wuppertal Institute’s Nico Kreibich, Gold Standard’s Hugh Salway, and WWF’s Juliette de Grandpre at an event hosted by the German Federal Ministry of the Environment at the IETA Business Hub to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing voluntary carbon markets.