It's crucial to confirm that the reductions produced by carbon offset programmes are indeed happening.

Any GHG reductions must first demonstrate that they meet standards for quality carbon offsets before being certified as carbon offsets. Most carbon offset programmes use approved methodologies, also known as protocols, that cover a variety of project types.

Which Standards Do Faradai's Carbon Offset Projects Have?

In our Carbon Offset service, 3rd party evaluations are conducted by certain groups, including but not limited to CarbonPlan, BeZero, Verra, Gold Standard, Climate Action Reserve, and American Carbon Registry.

The following are the voluntary carbon market-verified emission reduction standards that carbon offset projects have in Faradai Sustain:

• The Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) is an international benchmark for reducing and removing GHG emissions voluntarily. The VCS establishes the rules and requirements that must be met by all offset projects to be certified. The VCS programme is supervised by Verra (previously known as Verified Carbon Emissions Standard), which is also in charge of updating the VCS regulations.

   

• The Climate Action Reserve (CAR) is a US-based offset programme that aims to increase transparency in North America's voluntary carbon market. CAR is in charge of several independent third-party verification bodies and issuing and tracking carbon credits generated by offset projects in a publicly accessible system (or registry). The VCS has approved CAR's GHG emission reduction programme.

   

• The Gold Standard is a certification programme that aims to ensure that projects have measurable effects on sustainable development and that carbon credits are verifiable. Any community-based, non-governmental organisation is welcome to participate in the Gold Standard programme. Any project that reduces one of the three GHGs—carbon dioxide, methane, or nitrous oxide—and complies with the UN Millennium Development Goals is qualified for Gold Standard Certification.

   

• The American Carbon Registry (ACR) is in charge of registering and verifying carbon offset projects in both the voluntary and California's regulated carbon markets. ACR is in order of registering and independently validating offset projects from all over the world used in the voluntary market. These projects include reforestation and afforestation, improved forest management, landfill gas destruction and beneficial use, methane recovery in animal manure management systems, carbon capture and storage, renewable energy, and energy efficiency.

How is the verification process carried out?

All credits granted under major carbon standards will have passed a comprehensive verification process by an authorised third-party validator. Each project's verification procedures are different, but they all typically involve continuous monitoring and reporting to ensure the offset programmes work as expected.

All projects must be monitored on registries to ensure the carbon reductions are not double-counted. Carbon offset registries are databases that track offset projects' information, such as credits produced, ownership, sale, and retirement.

There are dozens of GHG registries worldwide, most of which fall into two categories: emissions tracking registries and carbon credit accounting registries.

• Emission tracking registries - When credits enter the carbon market, others can track them because emissions tracking registries identify emission reductions at the source. Voluntary registries in the United States gather GHG data from companies, such as the Climate Registry, the California Climate Action Registry, and the Department of Energy's 1605(b) Voluntary Reporting Program.
• On the other hand, carbon credit accounting registries are intended to "trace the trades," following the ownership of verified offsets as they are bought and traded. For example, all Gold Standard Projects are retired on the IHS Markit registry, an independent organisation that enhances transparency in global environmental markets.