Clean Energy 101: Book and Claim

The guide describes 'book and claim' as a flexible chain of custody model where producers 'book' emissions savings from clean fuels or materials in one location, and customers 'claim' those benefits for climate disclosures elsewhere via certificates. This system is designed to channel finance into nascent decarbonization technologies, such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), by allowing corporations to cover the price premium of cleaner alternatives when physical offtake is impractical. To ensure accountability, the system relies on independent verification of the physical supply chain, the use of registries to prevent double counting, and adherence to standardized reporting guidelines.

• Heavy industry and heavy transport, including steel, concrete, aviation, and shipping, contribute nearly 30 percent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions.
• The 'book and claim' model allows clean fuel or material producers to record emissions savings in one location while customers claim those benefits for climate disclosures in another, which is particularly useful when physical offtake is prohibitively complex or unavailable.
• Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) can reduce flight lifecycle emissions by up to 99 percent, but it currently costs two to five times more than fossil-based jet fuel and has limited production.
• A robust book and claim system requires a physical supply chain verified by standards such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) or the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC), a registry to track ownership and mitigate double counting, and adherence to reporting guidelines from entities like the Smart Freight Centre and Clean Skies for Tomorrow.
• Several initiatives are implementing these systems, including the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA), the Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA), and a design for the maritime shipping sector developed by the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMC), RMI, Danish Shipping, and Mærsk Oil Trading.

APA

RMI (2023). Clean Energy 101: Book and Claim. https://rmi.org/resources/clean-energy-101-book-and-claim/

Chicago

RMI. Clean Energy 101: Book and Claim. 2023. https://rmi.org/resources/clean-energy-101-book-and-claim/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Clean Energy 101: Book and Claim |date=30 May 2023 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/clean-energy-101-book-and-claim/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2023clean, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Clean Energy 101: Book and Claim}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/clean-energy-101-book-and-claim/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }