About Us
The Climate Action Reserve is a national offsets program working to ensure integrity, transparency and financial value in the U.S. carbon market. It does this by establishing regulatory-quality standards for the development, quantification and verification of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction projects in North America; issuing carbon offset credits known as Climate Reserve Tonnes (CRT) generated from such projects; and tracking the transaction of credits over time in a transparent, publicly-accessible system. Adherence to the Reserve’s high standards ensures that emissions reductions associated with projects are real, permanent and additional, thereby instilling confidence in the environmental benefit, credibility and efficiency of the U.S. carbon market.
The Climate Action Reserve operates alongside its sister program, the California Climate Action Registry (California Registry), which was created by the State of California in 2001 to address climate change through voluntary calculation and public reporting of emissions. The California Registry established protocols to guide emissions inventory reporting and served as a central database for emissions reports. As the California Registry grew and became more successful, the need became apparent for emissions reporting to exist in an integrated system that stretched beyond California’s borders. For this reason, the California Registry was involved in establishing The Climate Registry with the mission of expanding the California Registry’s emissions reporting work to include all of North America. Emissions inventory reporting is being transitioned to The Climate Registry, and reports for the 2009 reporting year will be the last the California Registry will accept. However, even after that year, the California Registry will continue to represent its members’ emissions reports to the State of California.
Nominate a Climate Action Champion by Wednesday, February 29
Our annual Climate Action Champion awards are an opportunity to recognize individuals and organizations that exemplify leadership and commitment to the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. For their efforts in the “fight” against climate change, we award these outstanding and deserving award recipients with a special championship belt.
We are pleased to accept nominations from Reserve account holders, staff and Board Members. You can nominate any individual, company, academic institution, government agency and/or non-profit organization that you believe has demonstrated excellence in reducing GHG emissions. Eligibility is not limited to Reserve affiliates and self-nomination is allowed. For more information on the nomination process and to make a nomination, please review the nomination form below:
Climate Action Champion Nomination Form
In 2011, the Reserve recognized the following Climate Action Champions:
- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, State of California
- Gina McCarthy, Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Terry Tamminen, former secretary of the California EPA and founder of Seventh Generation Advisors
- PG&E