This study assesses the environmental integrity risks of international carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and discusses possible international rules to address them. A considerable risk is that several countries have mitigation targets that correspond to higher levels of emissions than business-as-usual (BAU) projections.

Carbon markets are considered a key policy tool to achieve cost-effective climate mitigation1, 2. Project-based carbon market mechanisms allow private sector entities to earn tradable emissions reduction credits from mitigation projects. The environmental integrity of project-based mechanisms has been subject to controversial debate and extensive research1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, in particular for projects abating industrial waste gases with a high global warming potential (GWP).

This study systematically evaluates the environmental integrity of Joint Implementation (JI) in the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. Analysis indicates that about three-quarters of JI offsets are unlikely to represent additional emissions reductions.

This working paper explores the question of target “time frame” and its implications for the generation and use of tradable emissions units.

This paper evaluates projects under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) that abate N2O emissions from adipic acid production. The research shows that carbon markets enabled N2O emissions abatement levels that had not previously been achieved.

In recent years, businesses, local governments and individuals have set goals for reducing their emissions of greenhouse gases. In addition to directly reducing their own emissions, many of these
entities have purchased carbon offsets to help achieve their mitigation goals.

Carbon or greenhouse gas (GHG) offsets have long been promoted as an important element of a comprehensive climate policy approach. Offset programs can reduce the overall cost of achieving a given emission goal by enabling emission reductions to occur where costs are lower.

This report discusses the role of the voluntary carbon offset market and provides an overview and guide to the most important currently available voluntary carbon offset standards using the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) as a benchmark. Carbon offset markets have been promoted as an important part of the solution to the climate crisis because of their economic and environmental efficiency and their potential to deliver sustainability co-benefits through technology transfer and capacity building.

This report discusses the role of the voluntary carbon offset market and provides an overview and guide to the most important currently available voluntary carbon offset standards using the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) as a benchmark .The report compares the standards side-by-side and outlines the most pertinent aspects of each.