Project Governance & Independent Roles

Effective climate governance depends on clear role separation.
This page explains who does what—and who does not in the emissions avoidance project, so that claims can be evaluated without ambiguity or implied conflicts of interest.

The governance model is intentionally designed to ensure independence, accountability, and audit credibility.

1. Governance Objective

The governance framework for the project is built around a single objective:

No entity should be able to create, validate, approve, and promote a climate claim without independent constraint.

To achieve this, asset control, methodology application, validation, and disclosure are functionally separated.

2. Core Project Roles (At a Glance)

3. Asset Owner & Project Sponsor

Jedon Kotler

Role: Asset Owner and Project Sponsor
Primary Responsibility: Control over extraction decisions and stewardship of the underlying asset

Jedon Kotler owns and controls the mineral and subsurface rights associated with the Torrance Oil Field.

As asset owner, Jedon Kotler:

• Has sole authority to permit or prohibit extraction
• Is responsible for enforcing permanent non-extraction
• Retains custody of legal instruments supporting permanence

What Jedon Kotler does not do:

• Self-validate emissions claims
• Unilaterally expand claims beyond validated scope
• Delegate extraction decisions to third parties

Ownership establishes control, not unchecked discretion.

4. Methodology Application (Not Validation)

Role: Application of documented GHG accounting methodology
Responsibility: Quantification, documentation, and internal consistency

The project applies a documented emissions avoidance methodology aligned with ISO 14064-2 principles.

This function:

• Prepares baseline and project scenario documentation
• Applies conservative assumptions and lifecycle boundaries
• Produces calculation workpapers and supporting evidence

Critically:

• Methodology application does not confer authority to approve claims
• Outputs are subject to independent third-party review

This role is technical, not authoritative.

5. Independent Third-Party Validator

Role: Independent validation under ISO 14064-3
Responsibility: Objective assessment of methodology and application

An accredited third-party validator:

• Reviews the methodology design
• Assesses baseline credibility and additionality
• Evaluates permanence rationale
• Tests data integrity and assumptions

The validator:

• Is independent of Jedon Kotler
• Does not own the asset
• Does not participate in marketing or transactions

Validation provides external constraint, not endorsement or commercialization.

6. Governance & Disclosure Oversight

Role: Internal governance and disclosure control
Responsibility: Ensuring claims remain within documented and validated bounds

Before any public statement is made:

• Claims are reviewed against technical documentation
• Scope, limitations, and assumptions are checked
• Language is assessed for regulatory and greenwashing risk

Claims that exceed documented support are not approved.

This function exists to limit claims, not amplify them.

7. What Roles Are Intentionally Absent

To reduce risk and ambiguity, certain roles common in voluntary markets are intentionally excluded:

• No registry with delegated claim authority
• No third-party operators whose behavior affects permanence
• No intermediaries empowered to reinterpret claims
• No automated issuance mechanisms

Control remains explicit and traceable.

8. Conflict-of-Interest Management

The governance structure mitigates conflicts by ensuring:

• Asset owners do not self-validate
• Validators do not control assets or claims
• Technical contributors do not approve disclosures
• Public communications do not override documentation

This separation is central to audit and litigation defensibility.

9. Why Role Clarity Matters

Clear role mapping:

• Prevents implied conflicts of interest
• Supports auditor and regulator review
• Reduces misinterpretation by counterparties and media
• Aligns governance with financial and assurance norms

Ambiguity is itself a risk vector.
This structure is designed to eliminate it.