What are the sources of VERs?
VERs are
derived from project-based emissions reductions, from a wide range
of technologies and project types. There are generally three sources
of VERs at the moment; pre-registration CDM, "special situations",
and small-scale projects. The first
refers to CDM projects which have already been operational for a
period of time, but due to e.g. political uncertainty, changes in
CDM-level or host country regulations, have not yet been registered
with the CDM Executive Board. As the crediting period for CERs may
only commence after successful registration, projects which have
been operational prior to this do not have the opportunity to
commercialise their emissions reductions, despite real and
verifiable reductions. These may, however, be sold in the voluntary
market. The second
type, "special situations", refer to technologies or methodologies
for emissions reductions which have not yet been approved in the
compliance regime, typically in the sectors of land use change and
forestry, carbon capture storage, transport including biofuels.
Lastly,
there is a variety of small-scale, community-driven projects which
simply have insufficient resources to satisfy the strict
requirements and specialised consultancy services required for the
CDM project cycle. These projects thus opt for the lower cost option
of VERs.
Back to Top ▲
All VERs at
a minimum should be verified by an independent third-party. The general
market requirement as a minimum standard is the Voluntary Carbon
Standard (VCS) which ensures additionally, and uses as a basis
several of the additionally tests required in the compliance regime.
This is typically supplemented by internal criteria designed by
Buyers, which will vary based on their individual focus on community
involvement, technology transfer, host country impact, etc. The
Voluntary Gold Standard is a premium quality label which ensures the
successful integration of stakeholder feedback, and integrity of
environmental impact assessments. Similar to its compliance
counterpart, the Gold Standard represents the highest in
sustainability attributes, for projects which it may be applied to.
This does
not include forestry, which is often evaluated using the Climate
Change and Biodiversity Standards (CCBS) developed by non-profit
organizations. The CCBS is a stringent standard customized for
forestry projects, and focuses on the contribution to local
economies and integration with local communities. A new
quality label, the VER+, is not yet widely accepted by the market,
but has been recently launched by TUV SUD, an entity accredited by
the UNFCCC to assess compliance projects. Within the
United States, the ISO 14045 appears to be preferred, although this
does not appear to be widely known globally.
Back to Top ▲
