The International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) has published guidelines for the “high-integrity use” of carbon credits, aiming to guide corporate buyers through their progress towards Paris Agreement goals. Unveiled during the sixth European Climate Summit, taking place in Florence this week, the paper sets out unambiguous and robust guidance, providing a clearer definition of carbon credit use cases for companies. “Such use must always occur in parallel with internal abatement activities to reduce absolute emissions across all scopes, in line with ambitious near- and long-term targets,” the IETA noted. Although the guidelines address these issues, they stop short of defining how to set net zero pathways. “New modelling by Allied Offsets shows that 81% of the world’s largest companies have not set net zero targets,” said Andrea Abrahams, IETA Managing Director for Voluntary Carbon Markets. “The IETA Guidelines serve as a strategic framework for companies to mobilise finance and incorporate carbon credits into their climate strategies. The private sector has a critical role to play and we need to act now.” Evidence from the modelling also indicates a strong likelihood that companies may miss near- and long-term net zero targets, risking an overshoot of Paris Agreement objectives.
