Since our founding in 2011, COTAP has exclusively supported projects registered under The Plan Vivo Foundation Carbon Standard, now known as PV Climate.
The Plan Vivo Foundation is a charity based in Edinburgh, Scotland with roots stretching back to a research project in Chiapas, Mexico in 1994. Plan Vivo is the longest-standing and most established forestry carbon accounting standard in the world.
PV Climate is the only carbon standard which requires that projects share a minimum of 60% of carbon revenues with participating communities. Together with COTAP’s transparent pricing of $22.50 per tonne and modest 10% margin, PV Climate certification means that 90% of your offsetting dollars goes to projects, that 54%+ reaches communities, and that you are creating $12.15+ per tonne in community income in regions where income levels are less than $2 per day.
Projects’ designs must sufficiently cover a very wide range of important factors such as the consultation of local communities and governments, proper selection of eligible planting areas and tree species, land tenure, carbon sequestration estimates, additionality, permanence, leakage, risk buffer size, and establishment of third-party verifiers and verification schedules.
All projects’ Project Design Document (or “PDD”), Technical Specifications, Verification Reports, and more can be downloaded from COTAP’s Dropbox Folder.
