The Nordic Dialogue on Voluntary Compensation is funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers, the official body for Nordic intergovernmental cooperation. The Dialogue strives to develop common Nordic ground rules for a high-quality emissions trading market. The Council issued a report on the topic on 27 October 2021.
Nordic Offset follows the Nordic Dialogue on Voluntary Compensation in recognising the best practices for the voluntary carbon market
The Nordic Dialogue on Voluntary Compensation is funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers, the official body for Nordic intergovernmental cooperation. The Dialogue strives to develop common Nordic ground rules for a high-quality emissions trading market. The Council issued a report on the topic on 27 October 2021.
The objective of the Dialogue is to support Nordic and international actors in enhancing the quality of voluntary carbon compensation as part of larger efforts to reach carbon neutrality. It also aims to promote the transparency and coherence of voluntary compensation, as well as its compliance with the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
The first phase of the Dialogue consists of the following:
• Mapping stakeholder views of Nordic cooperation.
• Drafting a report on the international guidance being prepared, as well as a glossary of key terms and concepts.
• Developing the outline for a Nordic code of best practices, to provide guidelines for actors using and offering voluntary compensation.
• Creating an action plan for a Nordic approach to voluntary compensation and identifying key areas with potential for Nordic cooperation.
According to the report issued by the Nordic Council of Ministers on 27 October, the Dialogue aims to develop a Nordic best practice approach to high-quality compensation. For voluntary compensation to truly contribute to an accelerated shift towards a low-carbon future, its integrity must be ensured. Compensation must be based on high-quality mitigation outcomes which are not counted towards more than one purpose. To achieve this, public entities have issued guidelines on good practices and established domestic crediting standards, carbon registries, and carbon neutrality labelling schemes.
The report mapped out international guidance and initiatives related to voluntary compensation. The Council report also includes a summary of the good practices relevant to voluntary compensation. Nordic Offset is follows closely the development of best practices for the voluntary emissions trading market.
Read the full report here.