Green-e Climate Endorses the Climate Action Reserve

(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) SAN FRANCISCO, CA - June 22, 2010 - Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) today announced that Green-e® Climate, the nation's leading certification and verification program for retail greenhouse gas emission reduction (carbon offset) products, has added the Climate Action Reserve to its list of Endorsed Programs. This comes after an extensive, 60-day stakeholder-consultation period and a vote by the Green-e Governance Board in late May, 2010. The Climate Action Reserve is a California-based nonprofit that develops protocols for greenhouse gas emission reduction projects in the U.S. and Mexico and issues carbon credits in the form of Climate Reserve Tonnes (CRTs). Climate Action Reserve project types eligible under Green-e Climate include methane destruction from landfills and livestock, among others.

"We're very pleased to be able to include the Climate Action Reserve as an Endorsed Program," said Jane Valentino, Green-e Climate manager. "By allowing Green-e Climate Certified offsets to be sourced from Climate Action Reserve projects, we're increasing the number of domestic carbon-reduction projects available to consumers who look for third-party certification to ensure environmental quality, and helping promote the development of offset projects throughout the U.S. and Mexico. The Climate Action Reserve is a robust standard and consumers can be assured its projects generate real emissions reductions."

By purchasing offsets sourced from Climate Action Reserve–registered projects, business and consumers will aid the development of new greenhouse gas emission reduction projects that wouldn't have otherwise been built, leading to a reduction in the rise of global emissions.

Green-e Climate is a consumer-protection program requiring greenhouse gas emission reductions to be verified according to strict project-level certification programs that ensure the reductions have taken place, are permanent, and come from projects that would not have happened under a "business as usual" scenario. Sellers of certified offsets must provide customers with a product content label that explains where the reductions were sourced from, including the locations and types of projects. Sellers must also undergo a yearly audit to ensure their supply of offsets matches their sales, and comply with Green-e Climate's consumer disclosure and truth in advertising requirements. 

About Green-e Climate and Center for Resource Solutions

Green-e Climate is the nation's first certification program for greenhouse gas emission reductions sold to consumers on the retail market. This consumer-protection program strengthens the voluntary market by providing credible oversight of and transparency to retail offset products. Green-e Climate is a program of Center for Resource Solutions, a nonprofit that creates policy and market solutions to advance sustainable energy. Learn more about Green-e Climate at www.green-e.org/climate. 

About the Climate Action Reserve

The Climate Action Reserve is a U.S. private nonprofit organization representing international interests in addressing climate change and bringing together participants from the government, environment and business sectors. It works to ensure environmental benefit, integrity and transparency in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions accounting and reduction and progressive movement in GHG emissions policy nationally and in the Western U.S. The Climate Action Reserve is parent to three programs, the California Climate Action Registry, Climate Action Reserve and Center for Climate Action. As the successor organization of the California Climate Action Registry, the Climate Action Reserve continues building on the California Registry’s reputation as a respected and internationally recognized leader in climate change issues. For additional information, please visit www.climateactionreserve.org. 

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