April 22, 2026 (Washington, DC) – Today, 66 greenhouse gas experts, non-governmental organizations, and Fortune 500 companies representing $4.7+ Trillion in annual revenue and headquarters in over a dozen countries, came together to urge the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP) to accelerate greenhouse gas emission reductions, protect electricity prices for households and businesses, and preserve the voluntary clean electricity markets. 

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The organizations called on the GHGP to make hourly-matching and strict-deliverability in the Scope 2 accounting Market Based Method (MBM) optional, but not mandatory, by following a “may” rather than a required “shall” approach.

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This plea is backed by strong consensus: a comprehensive review shows that 67 percent of rigorous academic research rejects the premise that hourly matching in voluntary clean electricity procurement is the best path for decarbonization.

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The proposed updates specifically target the Market-Based Method (MBM) of Scope 2 GHGP accounting by imposing rigid requirements for matching contractual instruments to the reporting organization’s buildings on an hourly basis and mandating strict local market boundaries. These changes could slow system-wide decarbonization, increase prices for homeowners and businesses, and stymie the robust clean energy marketplace that has developed in the last 20 years under the current GHGP accounting rules. 

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The public statement signed by 48 corporations, 7 non-governmental organizations, and 11 academics and experts, calls on the GHGP Secretariat, Independent Standards Board, and Steering Committee to make hourly- and strict-deliverability-matching “optional, but not mandatory, by following a ‘may’ rather than a required ‘shall’ approach.”

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The statement continues, “Since its publication in 2015, the GHGP Scope 2 Guidance has played a critical role in enabling over 250 gigawatts of clean energy projects around the world, delivering new carbon-free electricity (CFE) to grids, avoiding hundreds of millions of tons of carbon emissions, and catalyzing billions of dollars in economic investment. We share the ambition to further accelerate CFE deployment and believe that achieving global greenhouse gas reduction goals depends on robust, voluntary demand for CFE.”  

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In the United States today, 90 percent of new electricity generation capacity comes from clean sources. Voluntary corporate procurement has been a critical driver of this growth, accounting for more than 40 percent of new capacity. However, a recent survey reveals that nearly 80 percent of U.S. corporate clean energy buyers warn of a market exit if these strict geographic and hourly boundaries are mandated. Switching to an hourly and physically deliverable basis would also mean clean energy development would slow and increase costs, driving residential electricity bills up by as much as 26 percent. This would come at the worst possible time as power demand is surging due to data center development, growth in manufacturing, and the increasing electrification of the economy. 

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“The next version of Scope 2 should encourage more voluntary clean energy procurement, if we want to achieve the growth in carbon free energy we need,” said Miranda Ballentine, senior advisor at Green Strategies, former CEO of CEBA, and signer of the public statement. “Voluntary procurement of carbon-free electricity by companies, universities, cities, and others has been a bright light and beacon of hope as the world seeks to decarbonize our power systems. We will need expanded procurement approaches and options, not narrowed choices, to allow organizations of all types, with any load-profile, and a range of sophistications to actively buy clean energy in ways that work for them.”

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“Ceres’ membership includes many companies with ambitious clean energy procurement strategies and widely varying operations. The procurement approach that works for one company with large, centralized electrical loads is entirely different from the approach that works for a retailer with thousands of locations spread across the world,” said Steven Rothstein, Ceres’ Chief Program Officer. “The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP) is the world’s leading emissions accounting standard, underpinning climate disclosure frameworks from California’s SB 253 to the ISSB Standards adopted in roughly 40 jurisdictions accounting for almost 60% of global GDP. As the GHGP’s Scope 2 guidance undergoes updates, Ceres urges the Protocol to continue giving companies the flexibility to drive climate impacts in ways that meet their individual needs and circumstances. By balancing ambition with feasibility and remaining responsive to market feedback, the GHGP can preserve the credibility of the Scope 2 framework, ultimately leading to more high-impact corporate clean energy procurement.”

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"Corporate buyers have signed long-term agreements that have enabled more than 250 gigawatts of new clean power on the grid over the past decade, and Schneider Electric has advised more than 25 gigawatts of those agreements since 2014,” said John Powers, Vice President Global Renewables and Cleantech, Schneider Electric. “The Scope 2 changes now on the table do not recognize the value of aggregating load across a wider area to support a new renewable energy project, and would steer capital away from the most impactful and achievable action available to voluntary buyers today. A rule that requires hourly matching and discourages high impact long term offtake at scale is not a more ambitious climate standard. It's a less effective one."

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The public statement concludes with a clear message: “We strongly urge the GHGP to improve upon the existing guidance, but not stymie critical electricity decarbonization investments by mandating a change that fundamentally threatens participation in this voluntary market, which acts as the linchpin in decarbonization across nearly all sectors of the economy. The revised guidance must encourage more clean energy procurement and enable more impactful corporate action, not unintentionally discourage it.”

 

The letter can be found HERE.