LONDON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - A global securities watchdog proposed 21 safety measures on Sunday to improve integrity, transparency and enforcement in voluntary carbon markets (VCMs) in a sector of growing importance to efforts to combat climate change.
VCMs cover pollution-reducing projects, such as reforestation, renewable energy, biogas and solar power, that generate carbon credits companies buy to offset their emissions and meet net-zero targets.
National regulators could require companies to disclose their use of carbon credits, and platforms that trade credits to have better anti-fraud and market manipulation safeguards, IOSCO said.
VCMs are separate from government-regulated carbon markets, such as the emissions trading scheme in the European Union, the world's largest.
Good practice could include "comprehensive disclosures on the project development process, verification and auditing methodologies, and the entities responsible for measurement, reporting, and verification," IOSCO said.
Persons:
Rodrigo Buenaventura, IOSCO, Morgan Stanley, Huw Jones, Barbara Lewis
Organizations:
Sunday, European Union, Reuters, Thomson
Locations:
Asia, Europe, Latin America, United States, Dubai