Greenhouse Gas Protocol board member resigns over forest carbon accounting standards

Danny Cullenward, a Senior Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, resigned from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol's Independent Standards Board, citing the organisation's delegation of forest carbon accounting standards to an 'industry-led working group'. Cullenward stated that the Protocol is 'openly violating its own rules' by allowing companies to use self-selected methods for forest carbon accounting after the Independent Standards Board failed to reach consensus on two proposals. This follows earlier criticism in January 2024 from environmental groups and academics regarding draft guidelines that could allow 'carbon neutral' claims for destructive products. Cullenward and another board member, Heather Keith, had previously filed a formal complaint regarding the Protocol's governance structure and lack of independent scientific representation.