Scientific studies suggest that a total of roughly 600 GtCO2eq of greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced or avoided by 2050 to prevent dangerous increases in atmospheric CO2 concentrations. By comparison, the current pace of climate regulation is likely to deliver only a fraction of the necessary reductions. Although momentum is building globally for carbon constraints, and mandatory regulation is the ultimate and most effective driver for ensuring emissions reductions at scale, regulation alone will not be sufficient to achieve this stabilization target.

Climate Wedge Ltd Oy was launched in part to address the gap (or “wedge”) between what governments will be able to achieve through formal regulations and what will be necessary to lower the risk of a global climate system adversely impacted by human activities. One of our focuses is on the emerging global market for carbon offsets and their use by regulated and non-regulated companies interested in effectively managing and lowering their carbon footprint, and offering their customers carbon-offset products and services.

To promote credibility, liquidity, and uptake of the voluntary carbon markets, Climate Wedge was the original author of the first version of the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS version 1), which was subsequently launched on March 28, 2006, by the International Emissions Trading Association and The Climate Group, and worked closely with the Bank of New York in the design and launch of their carbon registry. And we are continuing to work to create and disseminate a set of global standards, metrics, and market infrastructure for high-quality non-compliant carbon projects.