IETA issues guidelines for high-integrity use of carbon credits

At its annual European Climate Summit taking place today in Florence, Italy, IETA unveiled its Guidelines for High Integrity Use of Carbon Credits, that set out clear, unambiguous and robust guidance on how corporate buyers should consider their use of carbon credits to progress towards the goals of the Paris Agreement.

The paper focuses on better defining carbon credit use cases for companies. However, 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 Guidelines address these broader issues, but do not define 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,” says Andrea Abrahams, IETA managing director, 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 new modelling indicates there is a strong likelihood that companies may miss near- and long-term net zero targets, risking an overshoot of the Paris Agreement’s objectives.

* Allied Offsets’ modelling work can be found on the IETA website here.