Founding Chairman’s Message

Environment is an externality to business, as it is shared by all, and if one user tries make its maximum use, other user of it is impacted. This is why smart and sustainable management of environmental resources is extremely important for stakeholders of both categories, one who tries to use them and other who is impacted by its use. Sustainable management and use of resources helps adding great value to the society as a whole. The sustainable use is ensured by various policy measures, including standards, penalties/taxes and market-based instruments incentivizing the sustainable use. On global front, these measures are selected according to suitability of circumstances.

The governments across the globe are focusing on achieving low-carbon transition of economy while ensuring its sustainable development. The Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and Kigali Amendment of phase out of HFC gases, are landmark deals that give instruments in the hands of governments and non-state actors to push the diversification to low-carbon economies. The countries who have also signed ICAO’s Global Market-Based Measure for carbon neutral growth of international aviation sector beyond 2020 are also pulling this string tightly. However, for countries and organisations to succeed, there is a clear need of more appropriate and adequate policy measures, tools and capacities to fill the gap we have to make the world less than 1.5 degree warmer by end of century than what we have today.

Global Carbon Council (GCC) is established at an opportune time when there are several climate success stories are built up globally and years of hard work under climate negotiations have generated tangible results. The market-based instruments such as GCC, have proven their usefulness in catalyzing and accelerating climate actions in the past.

Unique idea that GCC brings to the fore is that it operates for different regions but in a global context. With INDCs implemented by each country, it is unlikely that the voluntary carbon credits can be freely transferred between country to country, as each country/region will need to keep the climate actions accounted for their own registry and communication purposes. To avoid double counting, it is important that the buyer and sellers are available in the same region for the carbon credits which are not officially recognized by as Internationally Transferable Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) between the countries. Unlike Kyoto Protocol regime, under Paris Agreement there is no defined carbon market where the countries buying and selling carbon credits are demarcated (Annex-I and Non-annex-I). Therefore, there is a necessity of the carbon market that can establish the buyer-seller platform for different regions and where oganizations wishing to achieve carbon neutrality can invest money into regional projects for buying carbon credits;

With the guidance of the enlightened leaderships and support of stakeholders, GCC promises to work out a way forward into a low-carbon future that is safe, healthy and sustainable for our future generations. I urge you to come forward and help us in delivering this promise. Join the climate action movement now.