At COP 17 in Durban, the Parties called for new market mechanisms, and more broadly, “various approaches, including markets” to “achieve a net decrease and/or avoidance of greenhouse gas emissions”. This paper explores what a net decrease might mean in practice, how it might be achieved, and the potential scale of the net atmospheric benefit that could be attained in 2020. It finds that achieving a net decrease in global GHG emissions hinges on: the ability to generate offset units for which additionality is relatively certain; measures (such as shortened crediting periods or pre-issuance discounts) that lead to more GHG abatement than credited, i.e. surplus reductions; and a means to account for any surplus reduction in a way that it does not simply contribute to meeting an existing GHG reduction pledge. The paper also draws lessons from the Clean Development Mechanism about challenges in attaining a net decrease, and examines the potential for existing CDM project types to produce surplus credits.
Links:
[1] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/reports-documents/potential-international-offsets-provide-net-decrease-ghg-emissions
[2] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/michael-lazarus
[3] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/peter-erickson
[4] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/lambert-schneider
[5] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/publisher/stockholm-environment-institute
[6] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/green-house-gases
[7] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/clean-development-mechanism-cdm
[8] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/carbon-offset
[9] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/thesaurus/cop-17
[10] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/carbon-market
[11] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/climate-mitigation
[12] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/atmosphere