Summary
Despite an unprecedented global pandemic, and concerns that the economic slowdown would damper climate commitments, in 2020, Gold Standard saw a record year of credit issuances thanks to its project developers and auditors. Gold Standard recorded a record year of retirements, and also saw work under its Value Change Initiative gather pace, with corporations coming together remotely to resolve issues on approaches for scope 3 market-based accounting through to what can be credibly claimed up and down the value chain. Finally, efforts to catalyse broader climate finance also charged ahead with the establishment of the Subnational Climate Finance Initiative (SCF) that provides an innovative global blended finance scheme to scale mid-sized infrastructure, energy transition and nature-based solutions.