[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.16″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.24.2″ text_text_color=”#29524A” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”||-2px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Developed by UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy,<\/em> the Berkeley Carbon Trading Project<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/span> is a research and outreach program dedicated to studying the effectiveness of offset programs on voluntary carbon markets (VCMs). As part of this program, a database of 8,559 GHG reduction and absorption projects, as well as emissions and withdrawals of carbon credits worldwide, has been set up. This database, known as the Voluntary Registry Offsets Database<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/a>, includes all projects registered by the four major international registrars of voluntary offset projects: American Carbon Registry (ACR), Climate Action Reserve (CAR), Gold Standard and Verra (VCS).<\/p>\n The administration and operations of three of these registries are located in the United States, and one in Europe. Together, the registries of the four registrars generate almost all the world’s voluntary carbon market credits. However, there are dozens of smaller programs and registries around the world. In doing so, the Berkeley database facilitates the transparency of voluntary carbon market information for researchers and buyers by giving them access to project and credit data on a single database. This article examines the 9th version of the database, dated November 1, 2023.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The program developed by Berkeley adopts its own classification of offset projects<\/strong>. There are the following 9 sectoral areas made up of several project types:: <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The Berkeley database provides an overview<\/strong> of the vast majority of reduction and absorption projects, enabling us to identify the predominant trends<\/strong> in the voluntary global carbon market. In total, the four programs in the Berkeley database have issued 1,918,602,388 carbon credits.<\/p>\n These are classified into the 9 sectoral areas mentioned above and illustrated in Figure 1:<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/solutionswill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Figure-1.jpg” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”75%” custom_margin=”||-2px|||” border_radii=”on|20px|20px|20px|20px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.24.2″ text_text_color=”#29524A” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”||3px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Figure <\/span><\/i>1<\/span><\/i> : Carbon credit emissions by sector (Universit\u00e9 de Berkeley, 2023)<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As mentioned, there are dozens of project types in the nomenclature of the various fields. However, there are major discrepancies in terms of carbon credits emitted by the various projects. The contribution of each project type is detailed in Figure 2 below:<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/solutionswill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Figure-3.jpg” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”75%” custom_margin=”||0px|||” border_radii=”on|20px|20px|20px|20px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.24.2″ text_text_color=”#29524A” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Figure <\/span><\/i>2<\/span><\/i> : Carbon credit emissions by project type (UC Berkeley, 2023)<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Forestry and Land Use sector<\/strong> generates the majority of carbon credits sold on voluntary markets worldwide, accounting for 40% of the global credits<\/strong> in the database, representing 759,114,172 credits issued through 1,481 projects. This large number of carbon credits is attributable to two main types of project.<\/p>\n Firstly, projects to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+)<\/strong> generate the most credits within this sector. In fact, this type of project alone is responsible for the emission of 462,553,031 carbon credits, i.e. 61%<\/strong> of credits in the Forestry and Land Use sector and 24% of all credits issued in the database.<\/p>\n However, these calculations have been called into question by several independent studies. They question the reduction estimates for REDD+ projects, claiming that they are greatly overestimated (The Guardian, 2023<\/em>).<\/p>\n Improved forest management projects<\/strong> are also responsible for 208,740,734, or 27%<\/strong> of this sector.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Renewable Energies<\/strong> sector accounts for 32.4% of the global credits<\/strong> in the database, i.e. 621,788,295 carbon credits issued by 2,322 projects. It is the second most important sector<\/strong> in terms of carbon credits generated. Among the types of project within this sector, 44% were wind power, 32% hydroelectric and 14% solar. <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In third place, the Households and Communities sector<\/strong> accounts for 7.7% of the global credits<\/strong> in the database, with a total of 148,456,181 credits issued by its 2,396 projects. Despite the high number of projects worldwide, their relative value in terms of credit emissions is much lower than that of Forestry and Land Use.<\/p>\n Despite this, one type of project accounts for 65% of the credits issued by the Households and Communities sector: clean cookstoves<\/strong>. However, the carbon credits issued by this type of project are also called into question by a study which claims that the reductions are overestimated (Nature Sustainability, 2023<\/em>).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/solutionswill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Industry.jpg” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”75%” custom_margin=”||-2px|||” custom_padding=”||30px|||” border_radii=”on|20px|20px|20px|20px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.24.2″ text_text_color=”#29524A” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Next, the three sectoral areas of Industry & Commerce, Chemical Processes and Waste Management<\/strong> are respectively responsible for 112,705,226, 112,572,919 and 112,209,756 carbon credits. Each of the three sectoral areas therefore represents around 6% of the global credits in the database.<\/p>\n The Industry & Commerce sector<\/strong> has 16 types of projects, the most developed of which are gas network leak detection and repair, mining methane capture and electricity generation from natural gas.<\/p>\n The Chemical Processes sector<\/strong> consists mainly of projects relating to refrigerant management.<\/p>\n The Waste Management sector<\/strong> generates carbon credits mainly from a single type of project: the recovery and destruction by flaring of biogas (methane) from landfill sites. This type of project accounts for 84% of the credits issued in this sector, but could be reduced as legislation becomes more stringent.<\/p>\n It is followed at a distance by wastewater methane recovery projects, which account for just 11.2% of credits issued within the sector. The remaining 4.8% of credits in the Waste Management sector include projects to divert waste from landfill, recycling and composting.<\/p>\n These types of projects upstream of landfill represent Will Solutions’ core target within the Waste Management sector. However, they still represent niches that have yet to be exploited by promoters of greenhouse gas reduction and absorption projects.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Lastly, the Agriculture<\/strong>, Carbon Capture and Storage<\/strong> and Transport<\/strong> sectors are respectively responsible for the emission of 28,542,918 credits (1.5% of total credits), 21,794,661 credits (1.5% of total credits) and 1,418,260 credits (0.07% of total credits). They represent the smallest sectoral areas in the database in terms of carbon credits issued. The Agriculture<\/strong> sector<\/strong> consists mainly of projects involving the use of digesters on farms. The Carbon Capture and Storage sector<\/strong> is mainly made up of projects to capture carbon dioxide from industrial processes and improve oil recovery. Transport<\/strong>, on the other hand, is the least important sector in terms of carbon credits issued. Its projects mainly involve the electrification of transport. <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If we look at the origin of the carbon credits issued, we can see that the production of carbon credits is greater in certain regions of the world. The distribution of carbon credits in the Berkeley database by world region is illustrated in figure 3 below: <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/solutionswill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Figure-2.jpg” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.24.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”75%” border_radii=”on|20px|20px|20px|20px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.24.2″ text_text_color=”#29524A” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Figure 3: Distribution of carbon credits issued by region (University of Berkeley, 2023) <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n On the one hand, it can be seen that the majority of projects have been developed in the countries of the Global South<\/strong>. The Global South is made up of countries considered to have a relatively low level of economic and industrial development. They are generally located to the south of more industrialized nations.<\/p>\n Although the United States is an exception, the cumulative credits issued from Central America, South America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East total 1,449,305,994 credits. Among the countries of the Global South, those producing the most credits are: India (317,294,469 credits issued), China (317,294,469 credits issued), Brazil (111,815,322 credits issued) and Turkey (108,340,420 credits issued).<\/p>\n The vast majority of projects in these countries are in the Forestry & Land Use<\/strong> and Renewable Energies<\/strong> sectors. In these regions, Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) program issues the most credits. It issued 1,163,489,277 credits in these countries, representing 80% of credits issued in the Global South regions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n On the other hand, Western countries in the Global North<\/strong> are not following the trend. In Europe as a whole, only 15,167,645 carbon credits were issued. In North America (excluding the United States), 13,720,381 credits were issued. In Oceania, only 4,591,846 were issued.<\/p>\n The United States<\/strong> is an exception, however, since it alone issued 435,645,473 carbon credits<\/strong>, more than India. Of the credits originating from the USA, 48.5% come from the American Carbon Registry (ACR), 37.5% from the Climate Action Reserve (CAR), 13.9% from the Verra Registry (VCS) and 0.006% from the Gold Standard Registry.<\/p>\n In total, all Western countries (excluding the USA) issued just 33,479,872 carbon credits. If we include US emissions in this calculation, we obtain a total of 469,125,345 credits issued within the Global North, i.e.<\/strong> only around 1\/3 of emissions from the Global South<\/strong>. These findings reflect a strong potential for the development of new reduction projects within Global North countries, as part of their NDC<\/strong> (Nationally Determined Contributions) commitment initiated during the Paris Agreement in December 2015.<\/p>\nIntroduction to Berkeley’s Carbon Trading project<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Project Classification in the Berkeley Database<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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CONTRASTING PRODUCTION VOLUMES BY SECTOR<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
Forestry and Land Use<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
Renewable Energies
<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\nHouseholds and Communities <\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
Three sectors with Similar Volume Contributions<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
Lower-volume sectors<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
PROJECTS MAINLY LOCATED IN THE “GLOBAL SOUTH”<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n