Founded in 2007, the Carbon Offset Providers Coalition (the “COPC”) is a cooperative alliance of leading entities operating in the carbon offset market. The Coalition’s members include those involved in financing, producing, generating, providing, aggregating and/or marketing these greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions for sale as offsets in existing and emerging voluntary and compliance GHG emission trading markets. The COPC’s purpose is to ensure that evolving GHG regulatory regimes in the United States develop in a manner that promotes both environmental integrity and economic efficiency, which the COPC believes is best achieved through the establishment of a robust marketplace for offset providers and their customers.

The COPC is engaging as a leading industry stakeholder in state, regional, and federal legislative and rulemaking proceedings, as well as in the non-governmental GHG registries, the Kyoto process and other international fora. The COPC’s primary focus is in the United States, including California’s AB 32 rulemaking, RGGI implementation, and Congressional legislative hearings.

Critical facets being addressed by the COPC in these governmental contexts include offset qualifications, rules for verification, potential sector or geographical restrictions, possible offset discounting, monitoring and reporting protocols, conversion formulas, and trading market linkages. The COPC believes that it is critical that those operating in the emerging offset sector not be left out of the process that will define their markets and possibly mean the difference between success and failure of GHG emissions trading and offsets sales.

The COPC is represented by Beveridge & Diamond, P.C.