Indicators for the Promotion of Sustainable Development in Carbon Market

The report examines how to effectively measure the sustainable development impacts of carbon market mechanisms, such as those under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. It argues that the rigour and complexity of these assessments should be tailored to the programme's rationale to balance impact understanding with transaction costs. The authors provide a criteria-based checklist for creating objective indicators and emphasize that while pre-defined indicators are useful, stakeholder consultations and grievance mechanisms are essential to safeguard against negative impacts.

• The level of complexity, rigour, and granularity required for sustainable development assessments should not be generalized but should instead depend on the programme's rationale, the intended use of the results, and the potential commodification of outcomes. While more rigorous approaches can improve the understanding of project impacts, they may also introduce unnecessary transaction costs.
• To ensure reliable assessments while reducing complexity and costs, the report suggests providing flexibility in MRV approaches and linking indicators to accessible data sources and internationally accepted benchmarks.
• Pre-defined indicators are insufficient on their own to prevent negative impacts; stakeholder consultations and grievance mechanisms are necessary to identify and address unforeseen adverse effects.

APA

NewClimate Institute (2020). Indicators for the Promotion of Sustainable Development in Carbon Market. http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/indicators-for-the-promotion-of-sustainable-development-in-carbon-market

Chicago

NewClimate Institute. Indicators for the Promotion of Sustainable Development in Carbon Market. 2020. http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/indicators-for-the-promotion-of-sustainable-development-in-carbon-market.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=NewClimate Institute |title=Indicators for the Promotion of Sustainable Development in Carbon Market |date=3 December 2020 |url=http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/indicators-for-the-promotion-of-sustainable-development-in-carbon-market |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{newclimateinstitute2020indicators, author = {{NewClimate Institute}}, title = {{Indicators for the Promotion of Sustainable Development in Carbon Market}}, institution = {NewClimate Institute}, year = {2020}, month = dec, url = {http://www.newclimate.org/resources/publications/indicators-for-the-promotion-of-sustainable-development-in-carbon-market}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }