The Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a corporate climate action organization that enables companies and financial institutions worldwide to combat the climate crisis, said there was not enough scientific support for the organization to lift restrictions on companies using carbon credits to offset their emissions, according to a research paper published this week. According to Reuters, the paper's findings are in line with a preliminary draft and make it more likely that the SBTi will continue to resist pressure from carbon offset advocates to allow their broad use in the accounting of climate targets.

The board of the group, which audits the emission reduction plans of companies, declared its intention in April to allow broader use of carbon credits prior to concluding its research on them. SBTi's trustees subsequently issued a clarification saying it had not yet changed its policy and that any decisions would be "informed by the evidence." Earlier, this month, SBTi CEO Luiz Amaral announced earlier that he would step down, citing personal reasons, according to Reuters.

Selling credits from projects, such as wind farms and reforestation schemes, to a company so it can offset its carbon emissions is seen as a way to help move money to climate-friendly projects. Critics argue that this will result in companies doing less to reduce their own emissions, and they worry about the quality of many offsets on the market, Reuters said.

The SBTi's current policy allows the use of carbon offsets for a small portion of emissions only once companies have done everything they can to stop polluting. Additional ways companies could be helped would be to broaden the use of environmental attribute certificates, although these would not be classed as offsetting.

In the Reuters report, SBTi chief technical officer Alberto Carrillo Pineda called the research report a critical step in helping the group develop "a more sophisticated approach to Scope 3 to help more businesses set targets." Scope 3 are emissions generated from a company's supply chain or its customers. Pineda added that cutting emissions directly "must remain the priority for corporate climate action."

The SBTi told Reuters that some of the ideas in the research report would require more work and discussion before they were put before the group's technical advisors and eventually its board.

A draft Corporate Net-Zero Standard with updated criteria will be released for public consultation toward the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, the SBTi said. The updated policies are expected to be in place by the end of 2025.