Ag Tech News
Locus Agriculture Joins Reykjavik Protocol To Implement Standardized Structure For Nature-Based Credit Generation
-The set of principles provides a framework for nature-deployed environmental credit suppliers to responsibly bring solutions to market
-Locus Agriculture is one of 40 signatories committed to removing barriers that hinder the scaling of cost-effective climate solutions
-The Reykjavik Protocol aims to bolster buyer trust and reduce perceived risks of participating in the carbon credit market
SOLON, Ohio (September 2023)– This week, Locus Agriculture (Locus AG) announced its participation among 40 companies in the pioneering Reykjavik Protocol, an international initiative for responsible, nature-based environmental credit solutions. The Protocol framework addresses structural risks and removes barriers to scaling the nature-based environmental credit industry.
“By joining other like-minded carbon removal companies in the Reykjavik Protocol, we can enhance the credibility and adoption of nature-based environmental credits—a critical tool for addressing climate change,” said Chad Pawlak, chief executive officer of Locus AG. “Nature-based crediting is both tangible and impactful. This protocol will help ensure it has the highest level of integrity, reporting and scalability.”
Reykjavik Protocol reduces risks and removes barriers to nature-based climate solutions
Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) solutions are vital in addressing the urgent global challenge of climate change, along with combating biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. The need for these tools is underscored by the IPCC’s Global Warming of 1.5°C and Sixth Assessment reports, which emphasize the critical need for drastic carbon emissions reductions by 2050.
Nature-deployed carbon removal projects offer some of the most scalable, permanent and cost-effective climate solutions available today; yet they are also subject to high levels of scrutiny. With a uniform set of twelve principles, signatories of the Reykjavik Protocol are working to instill more confidence and accelerate growth of the market. The Protocol offers a blueprint for nature-deployed projects to be effectively developed, managed, financed and scaled.
The Reykjavik Protocol aims to resolve these issues by providing a structure and set of principles for environmental credit suppliers to:
Address the ineffective risk transfer that has hampered environmental markets.
Improve the quality and standardization of generated assets.
Enable the development of market structures required to scale these solutions effectively.
Locus Agriculture’s commitment as a Reykjavik Protocol signatory
As a signatory of the Reykjavik Protocol, Locus AG commits to implementing all twelve principles within its CarbonNOW® carbon faming program within the next two years. The program has paid out nearly $4 million to US farmers who implement the use of regenerative agriculture practices, including novel biological inputs that supercharge soil carbon storage.
This commitment reflects Locus AG’s dedication to advancing transparency and responsibility in the agricultural-based carbon removal industry. The data-driven company advocates for market guidelines that ensure the quality and legitimacy of environmental carbon removal programs.
“Implementing the twelve principles of Reykjavik Protocol within our CarbonNOW carbon farming program leaves no room for ambiguity in our mission,” said Pawlak. “The guidelines not only validate, but also set the gold standard for legitimacy in environmental carbon removal programs. This commitment is a blueprint for a sustainable future that we wholeheartedly embrace and stand by.”
The Reykjavik Protocol’s standardized set of principles will improve the ability of nature-based carbon removal programs, like CarbonNOW, to scale and enhance carbon-sequestration services that benefit both people and the planet. For more information and to read the Protocol, visit Reykjavik-protocol.com. For more information on Locus AG and the CarbonNOW carbon farming program, visit LocusAG.com/CarbonNOW.
