Former Verra veteran envisions an unshackled carbon market and a new endgame

Eco-Business Podcast

Voluntary carbon markets have been in existence for over three decades, and the industry could well be set for future growth despite a recent bump in the road. But its potential to combat climate change may never be fully realised without a rethink of some key mechanisms, industry veteran David Antonioli believes. The founding chief executive of Verra, the world’s largest carbon credit certifier, sees at least two key areas where change is needed. First, the market should adopt an “end game” for emissions-saving initiatives to become economically viable without carbon financing. Someone will need to define the “positive tipping point” at which this happens in each sector – be it sustainable agriculture, reforestation, or clean energy – rally participants towards the goal, and then disallow the sale of carbon credits thereafter. Second, Antonioli thinks that project approval rules should be simplified to help initiatives get going faster. This means approvals should be based on simple lists of eligible activities, instead of complex mathematics, PhD-length reports and multiple rounds of checks that are currently required. Antonioli shared these ideas in a recent series of reports published by his advisory firm Transition Finance. He had earlier spent 15 years at Verra, and had helped mainstream many of the carbon market rules used today. He was also in the hot seat last year when Verra was accused of having rules that allowed developers to massively oversell forest carbon credits – a charge Antonioli rebutted prior to his leaving last summer. How would Antonioli’s ideas work, and will the market accept them, given that its participants are still polarised on issues of integrity, scrutiny and the worth of carbon offsetting? Tune in as we discuss: - How the idea of a “new paradigm” for carbon markets came about - Who has the authority to define positive tipping points for various sustainability sectors - The unique circumstances surrounding nature-based projects - Whether the market will accept a push for efficiency, given its hunger for scrutiny - Antonioli’s next steps