Verra’s Post

🌎 Verra is excited to attend the UN Biodiversity conference in Cali, Colombia, from October 21 to November 1. The 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16) will focus on financing biodiversity conservation and restoration.   ➡️ Verra representatives will include Sinclair V. (senior director, sustainable development, program development and innovation); Lorena Arredondo Tagle (senior manager, sustainable development, program development and innovation); and Susana Vélez Haller (regional representative, Latin America and the Caribbean). 🌱 During CBD COP16, we will launch our Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SD VISta) Nature Framework! The Nature Framework will drive finance to activities that can support critical biodiversity outcomes, helping to achieve the goals and targets under the Global Biodiversity Framework by closing the finance gap.  Our staff will also have a number of speaking engagements:  💡 October 24: Lorena Arredondo Tagle will speak on the participation of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon in the design, implementation, and monitoring of ecosystem services mechanisms associated with biodiversity credits. 💡 October 25: Sinclair Vincent will join a panel about biodiversity credit markets for the financial and social sustainability of conservation projects. 💡 October 25: Susana Vélez Haller will speak in a session on making sustainability a competitive advantage. 💡 October 28: Sinclair Vincent will participate in a discussion about enabling nature markets for coral reef conservation. For more information, please see our full announcement: https://bit.ly/4dIsqr6  #COP16Colombia #Biodiversity #Verra #Conservation #StandardsMatter #ClimateAction

📢 Reminder! Verra has launched the first public consultation on proposed updates to its Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program, which will result in version 5 of the program. Our feedback period is open through November 4, 2024! 💡 The suggested updates aim to enhance the integrity, impact, and usability of the VCS Program, enabling the voluntary carbon market to unlock finance for climate action at the scale and pace needed to halve global emissions by 2030. In this consultation, Verra is seeking feedback on the following proposed updates: 1. Fundamentals of the VCS Program 2. Enhancing data transparency and usability through digital tools 3. Environmental and social safeguards 4. A refined program scope 🔎 For more information, see the full announcement: https://bit.ly/3MQqxh6 #Verra #StandardsMatter #CarbonMarkets #CarbonCredits #ClimateAction

📅 Verra is excited to attend the 2024 Asia Climate Summit in New Delhi, India, October 22-24! #ACS2024 is the leading gathering of carbon market practitioners, experts, and governments from across the Asia-Pacific region, organized by IETA in collaboration with FICCI and the International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP). ➡️ Verra staff in attendance will include Ashok K. Chandhel (regional representative, Central and South Asia), Moulik Wadhwa (senior registry administrator), and Sakshi Nehra (senior program officer, auditing and accreditation). We hope you will visit Verra’s booth to connect with us! 📢 Additionally, on Tuesday, October 22, at 5:30 pm IST, Verra will host a side event: “Recent Updates to the VCS Standard and Key Methodologies, and Eligibility of the VCS Program for Compliance Markets.” Ashok, Sakshi, and Viridiana Alcantara-Shivapatham (manager, agriculture innovation – speaking virtually) will share key updates about the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program, including how it reflects the requirements for the ICVCM’s Core Carbon Principles. Please join us! Learn more: https://bit.ly/3U3zszM #Verra #StandardsMatter #CarbonMarkets #CarbonCredits #ClimateAction

💻 Verra's October stakeholder webinar is two weeks away! We hope you will join us to hear about our most recent achievements and other updates. We will also look ahead at our upcoming priorities and conclude with a live question-and-answer session. 📅 Details: Wednesday, October 23, at 11:00 am ET ➡️ Register: https://bit.ly/4gWp3Qe #Verra #CarbonMarkets #ClimateAction #StandardsMatter  Photo by FUNDAECO

"We simply cannot afford to dismantle one of the most powerful tools for driving climate action, not to mention positive socioeconomic and wider environmental benefits, especially in regions where it’s creating real change for the people who need it most." – Mandy Rambharos, Verra CEO ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ❓Is the voluntary carbon market (VCM) a "racket"—or a critical tool for mobilizing climate finance? A recent piece in the Daily Maverick presents the entire VCM as a failure, based on isolated cases. ➡️ In an op-ed response, Verra CEO Mandy Rambharos reminds readers of the VCM's essential role in catalyzing global climate efforts. The VCM mobilizes climate finance, particularly in regions where traditional funding mechanisms are unavailable or insufficient, to support projects that protect vital ecosystems, create economic opportunities for local communities, and contribute to global emission reductions. ✅ Key stakeholders have spoken up in support of this market, including 10 West African countries and UN Secretary-General @António Guterres. Real-life examples show how participating in this market empowers smallholder farmers to combat climate change by planting trees, restoring degraded land, and improving local ecosystems. The VCM is not perfect. But let's focus on improving and strengthening this important tool—rather than condemning it—so we can support a market that delivers real, tangible benefits now and in the future. Read the full op-ed: https://bit.ly/3ZZ7Wr8 #Verra #StandardsMatter #CarbonMarkets #ClimateAction

📢 Today, Verra released a new cookstoves methodology in the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program! 🫕We are excited to introduce VCS Methodology VM0050 Energy Efficiency and Fuel-Switch Measures in Cookstoves, v1.0. VM0050 is a comprehensive and robust new methodology that provides a high-integrity approach to quantifying emission reductions from energy efficiency and fuel-switch measures (i.e., involving the replacement of fossil fuels and non-renewable biomass) in cookstoves. Implementing sustainable cooking practices is an urgent need throughout least developed countries. Such practices improve livelihoods and gender equity, benefit health and air quality, preserve ecosystems, and reduce CO2 emissions. ➡️ Drawing on Verra’s longstanding experience in this sector, VM0050 reflects the latest best practices, as well as the most recent science and technology in project design and implementation of cookstoves, including streamlined monitoring approaches such as direct measurement techniques that strengthen the reliability and accuracy in determining project fuel/energy consumption and stove use. ⬅️ Verra is also submitting this methodology today for assessment under the Core Carbon Principles (CCP) Assessment Framework of The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM). The development of VM0050 was led by atmosphere alternative. This release follows extensive internal review, a public consultation, and a review by a validation/verification body. Read more: https://bit.ly/3zOfQc7 #Verra #StandardsMatter #ClimateAction #CarbonMarkets

📢 Verra has registered the first project using its biochar methodology! 💡Project Reignite: Turning Farm Waste into Climate Action (Verra Project 4679) is located in the state of Odisha, India, and developed by Together for Restoration. The project brings together rural farmers to stop the open burning of agricultural waste and instead produce biochar from this waste. The biochar is then used on the same farms as a soil amendment (i.e., a material added to soil to improve its properties). ➡️ This project uses VM0044 Methodology for Biochar Utilization in Soil and Non-Soil Applications, v1.1 in the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program. This marks an important milestone for the development of biochar projects as a viable approach for large-scale carbon dioxide removal. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3Bw1Dko #Verra #ClimateAction #CarbonMarkets #Biochar #StandardsMatter

🌱 Join Verra among 6,000+ leaders at #VERGE 24, hosted by Trellis Group in San Jose, CA, Oct. 29–31, 2024. 💡 VERGE 24 is the center of gravity for professionals deploying climate tech at scale. Together, we will explore emerging trends, take stock of new technologies, and work to accelerate the speed and scale of impact. ➡️ Register using Verra's discount code, V24V, for an additional 10% off: https://buff.ly/3UiUpG4 #ClimateAction #ClimateChange

📢 Public Comment Period Now Open! 🌍 Every project seeking to register in a Verra standards program undergoes a 30-day public comment period. The public comment periods for the projects listed here opened during the week of September 30. This week's listing includes projects seeking registration and/or verification in the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SD VISta), and Plastic Programs. The projects are located in various geographic regions, including in India, South America, Korea, and Vietnam, and are implementing a broad range of activities, including those related to biochar production, landfill gas capture and utilization, methane emission reduction in dairy farming, and more. 🌱 Impact Highlight: Collectively, these projects could reduce and/or remove over 1,930,000+ tCO2e from the atmosphere and 1,009 metric tonnes of plastic from the environment, helping to accelerate our transition to a more sustainable future. 🔗 Learn More: View the full list of projects open for public comment in our announcement: https://bit.ly/4exjAxv 🗣️ Get Involved: Share your thoughts and contribute to shaping these projects. Your feedback matters! #ClimateAction #CarbonMarkets #Verra #SustainableDevelopment #CarbonCredits #PlasticCrisis Photo by Sodamika Photo via Shutterstock.com.

💻 Banks, investors, and other financial institutions are invited to join Verra for a webinar on Tuesday, October 22, at 9:00 am ET! The session will feature an overview of Verra's Plastic Waste Reduction Program (Plastic Program), Plastic Credits, and the emerging plastic credit market. Verra's Plastic Team will share the key details about the Plastic Program for financial institutions, including answers to the following questions: 💡 How can the Plastic Program support impact-driven and results-based investments? 💡 What is Verra's Plastic Standard? 💡 How are Plastic Credits, an innovative finance mechanism, generated? 💡 What are some use cases of Verra's Plastic Program in voluntary and regulatory contexts? We hope you will join us. Register today! https://bit.ly/3XBNE43 #Verra #PlasticCrisis #CircularEconomy #PlasticWaste #PlasticPollution