CFF welcomes SBTi’s endorsement of carbon credits for tackling value chain emissions.
The Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) has this week issued a statement announcing that, following extensive evidence-gathering and consultation, they will be extending the use of high-quality carbon credits for scope 3 emission abatement. This represents a significant step towards increasing the pace of corporate decarbonisation across the value chain.
Here at CFF, we believe that urgent emissions reductions, through technological efficiency, process improvement and behaviour change, are the most vital step in tackling climate change. We need systemic changes in the way we produce, consume, and live to prevent the significant risks posed by a warming climate.
However, we know that that as a society, we’re not reducing our emissions quickly enough. Sequestering and locking away carbon already emitted into the atmosphere is an important tool to fast-track climate action.
Activities that sequester carbon can earn carbon credits for each tonne of emissions absorbed from the atmosphere. Planting trees is one way of sequestering carbon, which is then locked away for the life of the tree or captured in timber products. For organisations that have made every effort to reduce their impact, buying and retiring carbon credits can help them to reach Net Zero by offsetting their residual emissions.
We echo the SBTi’s position that high-quality, scientifically robust carbon credits are an important tool in the fight against climate change and are pleased that they will now be recognised as a legitimate activity for scope 3 carbon abatement. We look forward to contributing to the conversation around how this will be incorporated into the SBTi to ensure that only the highest integrity carbon credits are eligible.
What are scope 3 emissions?
Scope 3 emissions are indirect emissions arising from an organisation’s value chain, including upstream emissions arising from resource extraction and production, and downstream emissions from product/service use and end of life. For most organisations, scope 3 are the largest portion of their emissions, compared with scope 1 (direct emissions from fuel usage) and scope 2 (indirect emissions from electricity).
What’s the SBTi?
SBTi is a climate action organisation enabling companies and financial institutions worldwide to play their part in combating the climate crisis. Over 4,000 businesses are signed up to the initiative, which requires that they set emission reduction targets in line with limiting global warming to 1.5oC above pre-industrial levels and continue to measure and report on their progress.
