Global Carbon Exchange is proud to support Ecocho though the purchase and retirement of Australian NSW Government Greenhouse Gas Carbon Credits (GGAS).

Monthly

•  Purchase GGAS Carbon Credits. 
  
• Transfer credits to the Ecocho account within the GGAS registry.
  
• Certify that GCX has made the transfer.
  
• Gather certification from a large aduit firm that the transfer has taken place.

Yearly (July each year)

• Retire credits in the Ecocho account in line with Government requirements.
  
• Certify that GCX has retired the entire amount of credits transferred into the account up to the end of June, and that no credits have been transferred out of the account during that period.
  
• Gather certification of the above process.

What are GGAS credits.

GGAS was the first global mandatory greenhouse gas reduction scheme. It was developed by the NSW Government in 2003 and is supported by the Australian Federal Government. As part of its charter the scheme allows for the development of abatement projects including forestry.  Detailed information can be found here. http://greenhousegas.nsw.gov.au/

What type of credits are purchased for Ecocho Agency?

Ecocho has a requirement that only forestry credits should be purchased and retired on their behalf.  Details of the forestry credits purchased can be found here. http://greenhousegas.nsw.gov.au/acp/forestry.asp

How are these credits tracked?

Each month GCX purchases and transfers credits to the Ecocho account in the GGAS registry. An interested party can log onto the Ecocho account as a guest and view the total number of forestry carbon credits owned by the agency at any time. To do so please follow these instructions:

Web site:            https://www.ggas-registry.nsw.gov.au/

Organization:      ecocho

User:                  ecocho

Password:          ecocho99

*note username and password ARE case sensitive . Site works best in Internet Explorer.

Each month GCX certifies that credits have been transferred into the Ecocho account. GCX have engaged a large auditing firm to provide audit services that verify all transfers.

The GGAS scheme permits credit holders to retire the credits on an annual basis, thus permanently removing them from the market so they cannot be re-sold or transferred. In July each year GCX undertakes a permanent retirement for Ecocho. The auditing firm then conducts a  final year end audit ensuring that the total amount of credits issued each month for the 12 months up to June are equal to amount retired, thus ensuring accuracy, compliance and transparency.

Why go to all the trouble?

The voluntary carbon offset market has encountered challenges due to projects and schemes that don't follow best practice. Specifically, the three key issues cited by critics are:

1.       Lack of permanence (ie that the tree still exists) of the credit being sold

2.       Double counting where the same credits are sold more than once.

3.       Additionality

By purchasing only NSW GGAS forestry credits any issues of permenance and additionality are considered well covered.  By providing transparent access to the registry and engaging the auditing firm we have attempted to mitigate any consumer concerns regarding the issue of double counting.

Search Ecocho

Give Ecocho a try at www.ecocho.com. And to find out more about how Ecocho works why not ask Cho Cho - the Ecocho interactive character.

Contact us

For general or media enquiries regarding Ecocho please contact Kevin Sher on 0430487090 or email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .