Charter

The present charter establishes, in full concordance with international standards, the rules of good practice in voluntary greenhouse-gas offsetting based on quality and professionalism. These rules apply both for the evaluation of emissions to be offset and the assessment of "carbon units", aswell as for the transparency with which all the steps of its implementation are taken, in coherence with a strong priority given to the reduction of gas emissions at the source.

Article 1. Voluntary carbon offsetting definition

Within the frame of this Charter, the following definitions have been retained:
From a generic point of view, carbon offsetting is a financial mechanism through which an individual or a legal entity substitutes all or part of a reduction of its own emissions at their source by the purchase from a third party of an equivalent quantity of carbon credits. The principle inherent to carbon offsetting is that a given quantity of greenhouse gases produced at a location can be offset by the reduction or sequestration of an equivalent quantity of greenhouse gas at any other location.

This principle of "geographic neutrality" is central to the mechanisms implemented by the Kyoto Protocol.

With regard to voluntary offsetting in particular, the practice is targeted more specifically at those who are not subject to regulatory restrictions on their greenhouse gas emissions (as for instance in the community exchange system of emission quotas) or who would like to go beyond their obligations.

Individuals or legal entities may wish to offset their emissions in whole or in part by acquiring, for subsequent disposal, emission reduction or sequestration units generated by projects carried out by a third party.

Currently, in the most common case of carbon offsetting the client contacts a specialized operator and purchases a number of "carbon units" equivalent to the volume of greenhouse gas (GHG) he wants to offset. The money of the transaction contributes, directly or indirectly, to the financing of a specific project of carbon reduction or sequestration.

Carbon offsetting is materialised as a purchase and cancellation of greenhouse gas reduction units also called carbon credits.

Voluntary carbon offsetting is to be developed subsequently or jointly with the implementation of alternative solutions or efforts to reduce emissions (including process or behavior changes) operated or scheduled by the client on his perimeter of activity. It should be part of a general goal of achieving carbon neutrality.

Voluntary carbon offsetting is not a substitute for legal obligations and cannot apply to the emissions related to these legal obligations.

Article 2. Offsetting projects covered by the Charter

The projects generating carbon units and including a voluntary carbon offset process will have to demonstrate that the emission reductions they generate are real, verifiable, additional, permanent and guaranteed and that their creation, registration and tracking are clearly established. At present, the CDM or JI certified projects offer the greatest reliability both in terms of reality and follow up of projects, and of carbon units uniqueness.

Offsetting projects accepted within the Charter can be related to renewable energies development, improvement of energetic efficiency, energetic substitution, methane capture (from waste), afforestation/reforestation, etc. whatever their size and location, provided that they meet the above requirements. The projects for emissions reduction meeting the criteria listed below are considered straightaway as respecting all the requirements of this Charter.

  • The projects officially registered by the executive board of the United Nations Framework convention for climate changes (UNFCCC) within the Clean Development Mechanism or Joint Implementation (JI/CDM), which had to justify, during their registration process, their respect of the approval criteria defined within this international framework.
  • The projects in conformity with VCS standard (www.v-c-s.org).

For these 2 types of projects, however, information on the compliance to these requirements will have to be provided in a concern for transparency and exemplarity.

Article 3. Requirements

3.1 Additionality

The additionality of a voluntary project must be interpreted as defined in the CDM/JI projects of the Kyoto Protocol or in the VCS standard. It will be established by the operators who will have to prove that :

  • the project exceeds the statutory regulations or the regulations stated by national programs for greenhouse gas reduction applying to the concerned geographical zone.
  • They will also have to prove that the project complies with at least one of the following requirements:
    • The project could not be implemented on the sole basis of its economic profitability (taking into account the possible public contributions obtained) and needs an additional financing through the sale of carbon units it generates for greenhouse gas emissions reductions (financial additionality).
    • Carbon unit sale allows the project to overcome institutional, social and cultural obstructions. This includes, for instance, the support of awareness or educational campaigns in order to allow project to be implemented (cultural and social barriers).

3.2 Project description

Projects will have to be described and presented through forms proposed:

  • either by UNFCCCin the frame of CDM for small scale projects
  • or by VCS standard.

3.3 Durability of carbon offset projects and permanence of carbon credits

Emission reduction projects will have to be conceived under a long-term perspective and propose long-lasting, locally adapted solutions (field and opportunity surveys, projects follow up...).

The carbon credits generated by these projects will have to be permanent. In the specific case of afforestation/reforestation projects, the offset operator will have to implement the mechanisms which will ascertain permanence by minimizing the various risks, and will also have to complement the plan with a guarantee in the form of either an insurance or a combination of temporary and permanent loans on the project.

3.4 Benefits in terms of sustainable development

In addition to their benefits in terms of greenhouse gas reduction, the projects will be requested to prove they have no negative effects on sustainable development in the area they cover, with a focus on local populations and geographic area, notably considered from a social and economic point of view, and that they do not limit themselves to a mere shifting of pollution or negative environmental impacts.

3.5 Measurability and validation of CO2 gains

The carbon volumes avoided or sequestrated must be measurable for each project implemented. Measurement and tracking of emissions actually avoided or sequestrated will have to be done using:

  • a methodology that is formally recognized by an official programme at the international level (Kyoto Protocol CDM/JI programme) or the national level (domestic offset projects, energy savings certificates),
  • Or a methodology approved by UNFCCC methodology panel.
  • Or VCS recommendations.

3.6 Resorting to expertise for projects verification

Verification of emissions actually avoided or sequestrated will have to be done by independent organizations.

In the case of projects generating less than 6,000 tonnes of equivalent CO2 per year, and to make sure that the costs related to verification are not too high compared to the project impact itself, experts non accredited by official systems and standards can be called as long as they respect the same methodologies and provide the operator with a verification report which will have to specify:

  • The nature and extent of verification tasks
  • Information on procedures for data verification and follow up perimeter
  • A conclusion signed by an identifiable person.

For the projects generating less than 6,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year, verification by an independent expert will only need to be done every 2 years as long as an annual follow up system is implemented by the project sponsor.

3.7 Carbon credits uniqueness

A total guarantee of the uniqueness of carbon credits would require interconnected national registers. A first step in preparation for an eventual future system of this nature is to administrate per operators registers. Thus, to avoid the risk of carbon units being used several times, the offset operator will have to keep an updated register including for each project the number of carbon credits issued, the date of inscription in the register, the quantities cancelled for each natural person or legal entity, and the cancellation date. This register will have to be accessible upon request for expertise from a third party commissioned by the Charter’s monitoring board.

The operator should be able to present the title deeds of credits ownership as well as the handover contracts to its clients. It must also be able to demonstrate that the audit reports are consistent with the data in the registers.

Article 4. Updating of LOVE THE WORLD Charter

The LOVE THE WORLD Charter might be updated at any moment, either directly by LOVE THE WORLD or indirectly in case of updates of the ADEME Charter or the VCS standards.