While the US Congress is debating emissions trading and its response to climate change, eight leading carbon offset providers, including TerraPass, have agreed to form an alliance which they believe could greatly expand the voluntary carbon market.

The International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA) is launching today with two U.S. companies, TerraPass and Native Energy; five from the U.K, Climate Care, The Carbon Neutral Company, Carbon Clear, Target Neutral, and CO2 Balance; and an Australian firm, Climate Friendly. These eight industry leaders have joined in an alliance to ensure that their offset projects are real, additional, and independently verified. The ICROA code of best practice builds on the internationally recognized Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS), Gold Standard, and the Clean Development Mechanism/Joint Implementation.

TerraPass is pleased to be part of this pioneering effort. We participated in negotiations in London in March that led to the ICROA agreement. Each company shares a common goal to strengthen confidence in the voluntary carbon market. The member firms are encouraging businesses and individuals to reduce their carbon footprints through energy conservation and other measures, and then offset the remaining emissions with support for high quality carbon reduction projects.

Setting a benchmark for quality offsets is all the more vital now that Congress has deferred action on climate policy for at least another year. The voluntary carbon market will be the main arena for proving the cost-saving benefits of using offsets to help address climate change. ICROA is a much needed global alliance to lead the way in our emerging industry.