Absolute Climate Launches the First Industry-Wide Standard to Accelerate Carbon Removal Market

World registry leader Evident adopts the Absolute Carbon Standard under its C-Capsule service and plans broader expansion into carbon removal markets


SAN FRANCISCO and SHEFFIELD, United Kingdom, Dec. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Absolute Climate today is formally introducing the first independent standard to define and assess carbon credit quality. The Absolute Carbon Standard decouples standards from registries, providing an industry-wide benchmark that will enable the market to reach gigatonne-level impact. To build a new vision of carbon markets centered around climate impact, Absolute Climate is announcing its first registry partnership with C-Capsule, the carbon removal certification service provided by Evident, the leading registry provider certifying renewable energy and clean assets. Together, they bring a best-in-class complete crediting solution to market.

Delivering Credit Integrity

Absolute Climate established the only carbon removal standard open to market-wide adoption across registries in the voluntary and compliance markets. The Absolute Carbon Standard allays concerns over credit inconsistency as carbon markets become a cornerstone of net-zero strategies.

“Today’s carbon credits vary widely in quality; each registry utilizes its own methodologies and market incentives often prioritize volume over impact, leading to inconsistencies that can undermine the true value of carbon credits,” said Peter Minor, CEO and co-founder of Absolute Climate. “The Absolute Carbon Standard overcomes these challenges by setting a clear, comprehensive benchmark for credit integrity. By operating independently of registries, we eliminate conflicts of interest and ensure carbon removal credits deliver meaningful climate outcomes.”

The Absolute Carbon Standard defines every stage of the carbon removal process—quantification, verification, and permanence—with consistency, scientific rigor, and transparent carbon accounting to quantify credits based on their true impact on the carbon cycle. As a result, this pathway-agnostic framework enables consistent and direct project comparisons for the first time. This reduces buyer risk, ensuring credits reflect real-world outcomes, and helps developers distinguish their projects based on verified quality, not ambiguous market pressures.

Evident Adopts Absolute Carbon Standard under its C-Capsule Service

Absolute Climate’s approach separates the roles of standard-setting and credit issuance, ensuring that credits are aligned with real climate outcomes versus market pressures. This plays a crucial role in accelerating the carbon removal market by providing the foundation for accountability and trust needed to scale carbon removal solutions.

“The Absolute Carbon Standard is a fundamental step towards advancing transparency and credibility in the carbon removal market,” said Ed Everson, CEO of Evident. “By combining ACS’s universal, objective framework with C-Capsule’s open framework and Evident’s trusted registry services, we are providing a clear and reliable path for organisations to fully achieve their climate commitments.”

The carbon removal market has long struggled with fragmented standards and market-driven incentives that compromise credit quality. By adopting the Absolute Carbon Standard, Evident ensures credits are issued with the rigor and transparency the industry demands.
Evident will integrate the Absolute Carbon Standard within C-Capsule to verify and issue high-quality carbon credits through its trusted registry services. The partnership delivers best-in-class, scientifically backed credits free from conflicts of interest, offering buyers confidence and providing developers a trusted pathway to market based on proven quality.

Unlike registries that focus exclusively on carbon removal, Evident’s broad market presence reduces risks, delivering a low-risk and sustainable option for buyers and project developers. With a diversified business across multiple environmental markets, Evident brings long-term stability and resilience to the CDR industry.

About Absolute Climate
Absolute Climate is accelerating market adoption of carbon removal through the first universal standard that assesses and verifies carbon credits independent of registries. The Absolute Carbon Standard enables registries to independently apply consistent, science-based evaluations across all carbon removal pathways and issue credits that reflect true carbon impact. By separating the roles of standard-setting and credit issuance, Absolute Climate eliminates conflicts of interest to ensure that credit quality aligns with genuine climate outcomes rather than market pressures. Founded by experts in measurement, verification, and reporting—Peter Minor, Friedel Pretorius, and Greg Becker—Absolute Climate is helping scale carbon markets to achieve gigatonne-level impact.

About Evident and C-Capsule
Evident, a global leader in sustainability certification, is at the forefront of the clean economy transition. With over two decades of expertise, Evident has been instrumental in establishing trusted renewable energy markets and enabling credible sustainability claims worldwide. Among its innovative solutions is C-Capsule, a standard for durable Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR).

C-Capsule is Evident’s response to the critical need for large-scale CDR to meet the Paris Agreement targets and keep 1.5°C within reach. Unlike traditional emission avoidance or reduction offsets, C-Capsule certifies only carbon that has been permanently removed from the atmosphere. Its Carbon Removal Units (CRUs) provide governments, NGOs, and businesses with a trusted mechanism to meet Net Zero goals while addressing the growing demand for verified CDR activities.

As a product of Evident, C-Capsule benefits from Evident’s trusted certification expertise and commitment to transparency. Built on an open framework with a clear governance structure, C-Capsule offers universal access to Voluntary Carbon Markets and helps scale durable CDR by accelerating access to finance for high-quality projects. Together, Evident and C-Capsule are empowering global stakeholders to take actionable steps toward a sustainable, Net Zero future, combining innovation with trusted verification to shape the future of carbon markets.

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