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The Oxford Offsetting Principles (Revised 2024) provide a comprehensive framework to guide governments, cities, and companies in achieving net zero carbon emissions. As organizations increasingly rely on carbon credits for offsetting, adherence to these principles is crucial to ensure environmental integrity and avoid greenwashing.
Key Components
- Emission Reduction Priority: Organizations should prioritize reducing direct and indirect emissions to minimize reliance on offsetting.
- Ensure the integrity of carbon credits by adhering to rigorous measurement, reporting, verification, and accounting standards.
- Maintain transparency by disclosing emissions, accounting practices, offsetting strategies, and credit selection processes.
- Transition to Carbon Removal: Shift towards carbon removal offsetting to counterbalance residual emissions by the global net zero target date.
- Increase the proportion of carbon removal credits, aiming for 100% by 2050.
- Explore complementary mechanisms to avoid and reduce emissions beyond the net zero target date.
- Durable Storage for Carbon Removal: Emphasize the storage of carbon removals with low risk of reversal and high durability over the long term.
- Invest in methods such as geological reservoirs or carbon mineralization to ensure long-term carbon storage.
- Support nature-based approaches that restore and protect resilient ecosystems, contributing to both emissions reduction and adaptation.
- Support for Innovation and Integration: Foster the development of a market for high-quality removals through long-term agreements and de-risking of project finance.
- Collaborate with industry peers to form sector-specific alliances focused on net zero-aligned projects.
- Invest in ecosystem restoration projects for their social, environmental, and carbon storage benefits.
- Incorporate the Oxford Offsetting Principles into regulation and standard-setting for net zero.
Implementation Strategies
- Education and Awareness: Disseminate information about the Oxford Offsetting Principles to stakeholders through workshops, webinars, and educational materials.
- Encourage organizations to adopt the principles voluntarily and integrate them into sustainability strategies.
Capacity Building
- Provide training and capacity-building programs to help organizations understand and implement the principles effectively.
- Foster collaboration between academia, industry, and government agencies to develop expertise in carbon offsetting and removal technologies.
Monitoring and Evaluation
- Establish mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the principles, including tracking emission reductions and the adoption of carbon removal technologies.
- Periodically review and update the principles to reflect advancements in best practices and technological innovations.