By Marcelo Teixeira of Reuters Point Carbon

The voluntary carbon market’s widely used carbon accounting program, the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), will help Colombia develop a market for carbon offsets, making it easier for local companies to buy credits to reduce their carbon footprints.

The VCS signed a partnership agreement with conservation group Fundacion Natura to foster projects to generate carbon credits and to market them to Colombia’s biggest companies, the VCS said.

The two groups will offer training to project developers, auditors and policymakers on new offset crediting mechanisms, with a focus on projects to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD).

“While the international market is robust, it needs groups with vision like Fundacion Natura to step up and take the lead to increase demand for credits in their own backyard,” said David Antonioli, VCS chief executive.

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