We know the drill: there’s no silver bullet to solve the climate crisis. We’re encouraged by renewed efforts for policy change at all levels of government, as well as the call for the private sector to continue being an active participant in the race against climate change, rather than waiting to be held accountable later down the line. Whether it’s the impact of mass tree-planting efforts, transitioning to a circular economy, investing in carbon capture, or expanding renewable energy, we have lots of tools to address climate change right now. The crisis we face, however, has reached a scale that requires not just one solution, but a combination of our best technologies and practices to meet this moment.
Building on the science of past climate solutions to accelerate rigorous innovation
As a start up, Clearloop is new to the climate solutions landscape, so we’ve taken our time to learn from expert scientists, researchers, and advocates who’ve been doing the hard work for so many years. In order for Clearloop’s innovative approach of cleaning up the grid to be legit, we’re keeping up with the rigor of the latest science and applying the best practices for carbon accounting methodology.
That is why we’re releasing the most recent research on Clearloop’s approach to cleaning up the grid written by Lars Kvale. For the last 15 years, Lars has created GHG accounting protocols, establishing certification programs at leading organizations like the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS). Most recently, he led APX’s work to become the premier registry provider for environmental markets across renewable energy and greenhouse gas markets in the United States and globally, including the North American Renewables Registry (NAR), NYGATS, the inter-registry REC import-export framework in the US, the TIGRs global registry for RECs and the new Verra Registry for carbon credits.
Expanding the Pathways for More Private Sector Climate Action
The research paper titled, “Solar in the Shadows Part II: Clearing the Pathway for Private Sector Action to Accelerate America’s Clean Energy Transition,” builds on a white paper we released in conjunction with WattTime during Climate Week 2020, to showcase how Clearloop sits at the intersection of the voluntary carbon and renewable energy markets, as a verifiable option for companies that want to reclaim their carbon footprint and expand access to clean energy in the United States.
Clearloop has developed a transaction structure that directly ties a company’s financial commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the construction of new renewable energy projects. The Clearloop Way overcomes three challenges:
- it guarantees additionality and steps past ambiguity in traditional additionality tests
- it finances projects in grids with high emission factors, to maximize nationwide emission reductions
- it can be done at any scale, and empowers companies of all sizes to take climate action.
Carbon Offsets Built On Transparency and Accountability
While the current carbon and renewable energy markets have produced significant results, we need more. More innovation, more options, and more participants. The current markets have established a strong foundation for cooperation, collaboration and impact. However, as with any system, innovation and new models are necessary to keep pace with the need and opportunity to accelerate meaningful action.
In this white paper, we have highlighted one new model for emissions reduction based on sound science, and built on the learnings and best practices of the current market to help address a number of long standing issues and open the door to more participation from the private sector. We’re ready to dig in– let’s get to work.
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Want to learn more about how to reclaim your company’s carbon footprint and expand access to clean energy with Clearloop? Drop us a note at hello@clearloop.us or contact us here.
