What is the entire life cycle of a carbon credit?

Carbon credits are an essential component of worldwide efforts to mitigate climate change. They symbolize the removal of one ton of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, providing a means for entities to offset their emissions. Previously, their use was primarily confined to governments and large corporations, but platforms like WealthGreen have democratized access, enabling individuals and retail investors to join this crucial market.

The process of creating a carbon credit is intricate and involves several stages, often starting with an idea to implement a project that reduces, avoids, destroys, or captures emissions. Let's take the example of a natural real estate asset, such as a reforestation project.

1. Project Idea and Development: An entity, often called the project developer, comes up with an idea for a project that will sequester or reduce carbon emissions. This could be a non-profit organization, a local community, or a private company, aiming to transform a piece of deforested land into a thriving forest
2. Project Design Document: The project developer creates a Project Design Document (PDD), which outlines how the project will reduce or remove carbon emissions. This involves choosing a methodology approved by a standard-setting body like the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) or the Gold Standard, which provides a framework for estimating the carbon sequestered or emissions reduced by the project.
3. Validation: An independent third-party organization reviews the PDD to validate the project's design. This validator ensures the project's design is sound, the chosen methodology is appropriate, and the project meets the standard's requirements.
4. Registration: After successful validation, the project is registered with the standard-setting body, allowing it to generate carbon credits once it starts reducing or removing emissions.
5. Implementation and Monitoring: The project developer then implements the project, be it planting trees or installing renewable energy technology. The project's progress is monitored according tothe plan outlined in the PDD.
6. Verification: After a certain period, typically one year, another independent third-party, the verifier, checks the project to confirm the amount of carbon sequestered or emissions reduced. The verifier reviews the monitoring reports and may visit the project siteto ensure the project has achieved what it claimed.
7. Issuance of Carbon Credits: If the verifier is satisfied, they issue a verification statement, and the standard-setting body issues the carbon credits. Each carbon credit represents one ton of carbon dioxide that has been removed from the atmosphere or emissions that have been reduced.
8. Sales and Trading: Once the carbon credits are issued, they can be sold on various platforms. This is where WealthGreen comes into play. WealthGreen offers a platform for retail investors to purchase these carbon credits, effectively democratizing access to this market.
9. Retirement: When a carbon credit is bought by an end-user, such as a corporation looking to offset its emissions, it is 'retired' to prevent it from being resold. The end-user can then claim the carbon reduction as part of its own environmental impact efforts.
10. Reporting: The end-user reports its reduced emissions to its stakeholders, often as part of its sustainability or corporate social responsibility reporting

WealthGreen plays a vital role in this lifecycle by providing a platform for retail investors to participate in the carbon credit market. By offering only the highest quality credits, vetted by trusted third-party rating groups andvalidated through an AI model, WealthGreen ensures that individuals are investing in genuine, impactful projects. By unlocking this opportunity, WealthGreen is making it possible for everyone to contribute to the fight against climate change