Climate Consensus: Why WWF's Carbon Finance Position Matters

Amid all the noise of COP 29, the publication of WWF’s position on Carbon Finance may have slipped under the radar. They confirm we should focus on prioritising relevant impact through a variety of carbon financing mechanisms to target the specific challenges companies face, not promoting specific mechanisms. The paper establishes, across a multitude of financing options, the compelling case for action and the considerations companies should take when trying to deliver their climate strategies.  

One of the most influential NGOs who advise companies on climate strategies is now officially aligned with a growing consensus on how businesses should take responsibility for their ongoing emissions and their impact on the planet. It is clear:  

• Companies must reduce their value chain emissions in line with a 1.5-degree pathway.  
• Companies must take responsibility for their unabated emissions. 
• Companies should set an internal carbon fee and invest in areas such as research and development into new solutions, purchasing high quality carbon credits, or campaigns for new legislation that will help them to reduce emissions.  

This approach is consistent with publications like Gold Standard’s “Nine Actions Businesses Should Take on the Journey to Net Zero” and the “Reduce and Invest” campaign, and marks a moment of convergence, of a shared understanding on the correct course for climate action, that has crystalised out of ambiguity. 

The publication is important for its content, and for the signal it sends. Businesses have been navigating a field crowded with seemingly fragmented advice on what “climate responsibility” means and how it can be satisfied. There are legions of targets, country, company and sectoral goals and what can seem like unending guidance. But consensus on what credible action looks like has clearly emerged. Companies should feel empowered to act, knowing there is a lower risk way of financing high credibility action – and getting acknowledgment for your work – using an approach endorsed by a host of credible actors.   

The approach means companies can ground themselves in a phased, structured approach to climate action. Set governance, disclose transparently, reduce within your own operations and take responsibility for what remains.  

Clarity on what constitutes a credible climate strategy is the starting point. For most companies, achieving targets genuinely aligned with the necessary level of emissions reductions is very challenging.  More specific guidance and tools are needed, including when it comes to reducing emissions in value chains. It’s important that genuine efforts are recognised – fostering an environment where we can answer these difficult questions and achieve meaningful progress together. 

Companies have an opportunity. Those that understand that the world they operate in—where customers, investors, and lawmakers alike demand more than lip service—is a world that needs real, measurable progress, will be recognised as the leaders we need.  

Consensus on the direction and steps required has been reached, and those who step forward to follow it signal to others that a credible path exists. A path that allows businesses to contribute to our global journey to net zero while ensuring their own resilience in the face of tomorrow’s climate realities – and be recognised for their efforts. 

The approach is clear. It's backed by credible actors. It's the way to demonstrate good practice. Act now.