Amazon is backing the development of a new standard that could allow the online retailer and cloud-computing provider to overcome a dearth of supply for quality-labelled offsets, enabling it to meet its target of cutting its greenhouse gas emissions to zero on a net basis by 2040.

Critics worry that the move could lead to market confusion and a compromise in the standards of carbon offsets.

Companies under pressure to curb their emissions can buy credits from developers of projects that absorb carbon, such as through reforestation.

The market for offsets has remained small due to a limited number of projects that can verify their climate benefits.

Amazon told Reuters it has completed work on Abacus, a framework for verifying the quality of carbon offsets in reforestation and agroforestry.

--Reuters--