By Max DuBuisson, Bradley Rochlin, Guy Pinjuv
The 26th United Nations Climate Conference (also known as the Conference of the Parties, or COP) took place over the past two weeks in Glasgow, Scotland. It brought together climate negotiators from all UN member nations, as well as tens of thousands of NGO, academic, and private sector stakeholders to debate, discuss, and collaborate on the myriad issues related to mitigating and adapting to global climate change. In recent years, conversations around climate change mitigation have expanded to include greater focus on natural climate solutions, rather than purely on emission reductions from energy and industrial sectors.
Our delegation of three was heartened to see agriculture gain a more prominent place in these conversations, and we found universal praise and excitement for how far Indigo has advanced the science and policy around agricultural soil carbon quantification. We observed four significant themes at COP26 that are directly relevant for agricultural carbon:
On full display at COP 26 was the increased role that corporations and governments see carbon markets playing for unlocking financial support for climate mitigation and adaptation activities. A plethora of carbon-market related initiatives launched or expanded in scope throughout the two weeks.
The Taskforce for Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets (TSVCM), a group of industry leaders collaborating to scale the voluntary market, has been renamed as the Integrity Council on the Voluntary Carbon Markets (ICVCM), signaling its transition to the next phase of maturity and activity to support quality on the supply side of the carbon market. The Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative, or VCMI, has also ramped up its activity to address the demand side.
We also saw demand-side initiatives from World Business Council for Sustainable Development (Regen10, focused on scaling regenerative practices globally) and World Economic Forum, amongst others. Along with these specific launches, there was an acceleration of commitments to net zero emissions targets and climate finance across the board. Of course, the proof will be in the follow-through and turning those commitments into action, but the level of stated ambition is far higher than ever before.
Guy Pinjuv speaking at COP 26.
COP26 concluded last weekend with the adoption of the Glasgow Climate Pact. Amongst other outcomes, the agreement has finalized the long-awaited rules around carbon trading under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which will provide additional clarity for governments, project developers, and all carbon market participants around the accounting rules for emissions trading and how to avoid “double counting” of emissions. The agreement also represents the first time that a reduction of coal and fossil fuels has been explicitly included in an international climate agreement—though most external observers agree there is still quite a long way to go.
COP26 confirmed that the voluntary carbon market is quite strong, and is rapidly expanding and maturing. Private sector action and ambition are intertwined with official government action and ambition. They feed each other. And, the level to which the private sector is now stepping up gives us optimism that typically-recalcitrant governments are feeling more pressure from the business community to take action and enable their people to benefit from the ever-expanding green economy. Indigo looks forward to nurturing the relationships we have forged, at COP or otherwise, in order to be a meaningful catalyst for greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions and enhanced soil carbon sequestration on working agricultural lands around the world.