SCS Global Registry to Extend Climate Financing Opportunities

“The Registry will serve as a platform and clearinghouse for the evaluation, registration and financing of innovative climate mitigation projects that can contribute meaningfully to the reduction of global and regional radiative forcing (RF) in this decade as well as the longer-term,” said Dana Pillai, Executive Director. “The near-term focus is crucial, since our best chance of stabilizing the climate depends on early action and results. The longer we wait, the more difficult it will be to avoid crossing dangerous climate thresholds.”

The new, non-profit climate registry will use an advanced climate accounting protocol updated to reflect the latest consensus, scientific reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The protocol accounts not only for greenhouse gases, but for short-lived climate pollutants, changes in surface albedo, and other contributors to planetary warming under one umbrella approach. In this way, the registry will open the door to climate financing for a wider range of projects, including projects that can be highly cost-effective for project proponents and purchasers alike.

Another important feature will be the inclusion of a detailed analysis of the ways in which climate projects can cause other beneficial or harmful externalities, taking into consideration a wide range of environmental and human health impacts across the project life cycle.  

“This will enable the Registry to quantify important co-benefits such as reduced air pollution and protection of vulnerable habitats that can make projects particularly attractive on a regional level,” said Pillai. “And on the flip side of the coin, it is crucial that we avoid taking missteps with projects that could actually undermine the larger sustainability objectives outlined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.”

Credits issued through the registry will serve the needs of companies and organizations seeking to offset their climate footprints, as well as organizations and individuals seeking to directly invest in projects with tangible near-term and longer-term climate benefits. Transparency will be particularly important; credit purchasers will receive annual updates about the project’s progress for each year, or “vintage,” for which credits are issued.

“We will be squarely focusing on projects that can help prevent an overshoot of the Paris Agreement temperature targets of 1.5°C, or at worst, 2.0°C,” said Pillai. “Without taking the necessary steps now, we are currently on a clear path to exceed both of these targets. The Registry will bring new visibility to the problem, and to potential solutions.”

For more information about the SCS Global Registry, including how to propose projects, purchase offset and investment credits, or become an approved validation and verification body (VVB), visit www.SCSGlobalRegistry.org.