TAILIEUCHUNG - TESTIMONY BEFORE THE HOUSE SELECT COMMITTEE ON ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND GLOBAL WARMING U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Much of the literature on carbon offsets (and nearly all aspiring “standards”) point out that credible offsets must be “real, surplus, permanent, verifiable, and enforceable” – or some variation of these terms. 15 Different sources do not always agree on the definitions of these criteria, however, and having a “standard” for carbon offsets really depends on how they are interpreted. What the criteria boil down to are three things, all of which need some form of official certification or oversight to create a true carbon offset “commodity”: (1) accounting standards; (2) monitoring and verification standards; and (3) registration and enforcement systems | TESTIMONY OF DERIK BROEKHOFF SENIOR ASSOCIATE WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE TESTIMONY BEFORE THE HOUSE SELECT COMMITTEE ON ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND GLOBAL WARMING . HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES VOLUNTARY CARBON OFFSETS GETTING WHAT YOU PAY FOR JULY 18 2007 Executive Summary Carbon offsets are an innovative tool for allowing companies and individuals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions beyond what they can easily achieve on their own. In the past two years interest in carbon offsets has grown dramatically as companies and concerned consumers have sought ways to help mitigate climate change. However the global market for voluntary carbon offsets is currently unregulated which has led to growing concerns about whether buyers are really getting what they are paying for. Various nongovernment programs and initiatives have sought to address these concerns by establishing standards. So far none of these initiatives has managed to establish all three required elements of a true carbon offset commodity standard namely 1 accounting standards for emission reductions 2 project verification standards and 3 publicly reviewable registration and enforcement systems. In the future the domestic voluntary carbon offset market may be largely superseded by a mandatory . trading program for greenhouse gas emissions. Even if it is there may be grounds for government oversight of the voluntary market today. Oversight may be desirable for example to protect consumers and the public interest to allow learning for regulators and to provide greater certainty for investors. Oversight could take several forms ranging from endorsing specific complete standards and programs to providing guidance or certification for accounting standards verifiers and registries. In general oversight should build off the work of existing standards and programs and should seek to bring minimum standards of clarity consistency and quality to how voluntary carbon offsets are defined and guaranteed. Government oversight .

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