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Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Carbon credits · Global · 2021–2022

Toucan moved 21.6 million legacy Verra carbon credits onto blockchains

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 1 none on record · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

The Toucan protocol moved 21.6 million older Verra carbon credits onto blockchains in 2021 and 2022, and 99.9 per cent of them had a first crediting period before 2016. At stake is whether credits from older crediting periods are traded as current offsets.

What?
The Toucan protocol moved 21.6 million older Verra carbon credits onto blockchains. CarbonPlan
Where?
Global CarbonPlan
When?
2021 to 2022 CarbonPlan
Who?
Gained
  • Toucan protocol — tokenised 21.6 million older Verra credits CarbonPlan
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Blockchain tokens backed by legacy Verra credits CarbonPlan
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

CarbonPlan reported in April 2022 that the Toucan protocol had moved 21.6 million older Verra credits onto blockchains in 2021 and 2022.

According to CarbonPlan, 99.9 per cent of those credits had their first crediting period before 2016.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: Verra banned the tokenisation of its credits in May 2022.
    • None on record Not stated in the sources reviewed: the prices at which the tokenised credits were sold, or who bought them.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Communities and civil society

    1. Toucan crypto offsets
      CarbonPlan · 2022-04-07

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    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Carbon and conservation finance

    Buffer pool
    A reserve of credits held back from sale by a carbon programme to cover future losses, such as forest burned or logged after credits were issued. It works as the programme's own insurance.
    Carbon credit
    A certificate representing one tonne of carbon dioxide (or equivalent) that a project says it reduced, avoided or removed. Buyers use credits to balance their own emissions in climate claims.
    Offset
    Using carbon credits to balance emissions released elsewhere, so that a buyer can claim lower or zero net emissions.
    REDD+
    Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation. A UN framework under which forest projects earn carbon credits for deforestation they say they prevented, measured against a projected baseline.
    Standard-setter and registry
    An organisation that writes the rules for carbon credits, approves projects, and records when credits are issued and retired. Such bodies typically charge fees per credit.