(Washington, D.C.) – In calling today the time to “act before it was too late”, U.S President Barack Obama announced sweeping polices that he says will place the United States on a path forward to better address the challenges of climate change. Key parts of the plan include the U.S. government working closely with countries around the world to help Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) as well as a firm commitment to the value of carbon finance and international climate negotiations.
In response to President Obama’s speech, Verified Carbon Standard CEO David Antonioli issued the following statement:
“It’s encouraging to see President Obama put forward a bold plan to address the challenges of climate change and embrace key provisions like carbon finance and REDD to achieve those goals. Similarly encouraging is his endorsement of the UNFCCC negotiations as is his call to apply the strength of the U.S. government towards the goal of an international agreement by 2015. While it is important to remember that these are currently only words and not actions, it is still great cause for optimism. I hope other world leaders will take this opportunity to make similar commitments, and more importantly, take the necessary steps to ensure those commitments produce real, meaningful actions.”
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Founded in 2005 by the Climate Group, the International Emissions Trading Association, the World Economic Forum, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the Verified Carbon Standard has become one of the world’s most widely used carbon accounting standards. VCS has revolutionized the market developing trusted and innovative tools, as well as pioneering efforts to develop standardized methods that will streamline the project approval process, reduce transaction costs and enhance transparency. Across the world, projects using the VCS Standard have issued more than 125 million credits.