Systematic assessment of emission reductions of carbon crediting projects
a year ago
- #emission reductions
- #carbon markets
- #climate change
- Carbon markets are crucial for firms' and governments' climate strategies, but concerns about environmental integrity persist.
- A systematic evaluation of carbon crediting mechanisms reveals that less than 16% of issued carbon credits represent real emission reductions.
- The offset achievement ratio (OAR) varies by project type: 11% for cookstoves, 16% for SF6 destruction, 25% for avoided deforestation, 68% for HFC-23 abatement, and no significant reductions for wind power and improved forest management.
- Key issues include adverse selection, unrealistic assumptions by project developers, and inappropriate methodological approaches.
- The study covers 14 studies on 2,346 carbon mitigation projects and 51 studies on similar field interventions, representing nearly 1 billion tons of CO2e.
- Reforms are urgently needed to improve the credibility and effectiveness of carbon crediting mechanisms in climate change mitigation.