Addressing the risk of double counting emission reductions under the UNFCCC

The paper identifies double issuance and double claiming as the primary forms of double counting of emission reductions under the UNFCCC and argues that preventing these requires international coordination across unit accounting, mechanism design, and tracking and reporting.

• Double counting of emission reductions occurs when a single greenhouse gas emission reduction or removal, generated via a mechanism that issues units, is counted multiple times toward mitigation pledges.
• The most significant forms of double counting are double issuance, where two units are issued for the same reduction, and double claiming, where the same reduction is counted in both a greenhouse gas inventory and as units toward a mitigation pledge.
• Effective prevention of double counting necessitates international coordination in three specific areas: the accounting of units, the design of units-issuing mechanisms, and the consistent reporting and tracking of units.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2015). Addressing the risk of double counting emission reductions under the UNFCCC. https://www.sei.org/publications/addressing-the-risk-of-double-counting-emission-reductions-under-the-unfccc/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Addressing the risk of double counting emission reductions under the UNFCCC. 2015. https://www.sei.org/publications/addressing-the-risk-of-double-counting-emission-reductions-under-the-unfccc/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Addressing the risk of double counting emission reductions under the UNFCCC |date=12 August 2015 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/addressing-the-risk-of-double-counting-emission-reductions-under-the-unfccc/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2015addressing, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Addressing the risk of double counting emission reductions under the UNFCCC}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2015}, month = aug, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/addressing-the-risk-of-double-counting-emission-reductions-under-the-unfccc/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }