Carbon credits get boost from COP

Recognition of the critical role carbon credits will play in supporting the transition to net-zero carbon was a clear takeaway from the recently completed United Nations Conference of Parties (CoP) event.

That’s the view of Anna Hancock, Executive Director at Pollination, who said conversations at the event “really underscored the importance of bringing private finance to the table for activities that benefit nature, communities and the planet”.

Speaking to Sarah Foley, Manager, Sustainable Finance at ANZ Institutional, Hancock said the event had attracted a diverse range of thought leaders from across many markets and economies, leading to some fruitful conversations around funding.

“We saw greater alignment between some of the governing bodies around the end-to-end integrity narrative,” she said.

“And we saw absolute confidence from senior delegates that carbon credits are so desperately needed.”

You can watch an edited version of the conversation on video below.

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Hancock said the event had seen industry bodies reach agreements on “principles for integrity and verification and benefit sharing” around funding sustainable projects that would help “build the coherence and consistency… and hopefully build confidence”.

For Hancock, another key takeaway from CoP was the range of projects looking for support in locations where obtaining funding was a challenge.

“These are good people trying to do nature positive work that really matters for ecosystems and for decarbonisation,” she said.

The sale and purchase of carbon credits – “whether through compliance schemes or in the voluntary market” – had a critical role to play in those instances, Hancock said.

“It's so important these projects get the boost they need and that the private sector is supported to participate in a way that is additive to their corporate reputations,” she said.