Forestry Companies Push Controversial Carbon Accounting Rules Within Global Emissions Standard

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol is considering two competing ways to account for forest carbon in corporate emissions reports. The first method, activity-based accounting, records emissions and removals tied directly to a company’s land-management actions. The alternative, managed land proxy “plus,” would allow firms to credit any carbon uptake on land they own or lease, even if they cut down or burn trees, effectively treating increased growth from climate change as a corporate offset.

Industry-backed consultants from EY presented both options to the Independent Standards Board, where scientists and NGOs have expressed alarm. Senior experts Danny Cullenward and Tim Searchinger resigned, saying the process hands rule-making power to the very companies it should regulate. After months of internal disputes, the board opened a seven-month public comment period and announced a partnership with the International Organization for Standardization, whose own forest-carbon standard mirrors the controversial proxy approach. Critics warn that the outcome could embed industry-favored accounting into California and EU law, blurring the line between voluntary reporting and enforceable regulation.