Environmental Integrity of International Carbon Market Mechanisms

The paper examines environmental integrity in international carbon markets, defining it as a state where carbon unit transfers result in the same or lower aggregated global emissions. It identifies four primary risk factors: accounting for transfers, the quality of generated units, the ambition of transferring countries' targets, and potential disincentives for future mitigation action. The author recommends that policy-makers employ a combination of approaches to mitigate these risks.

• Environmental integrity in the context of international carbon market units is defined as a condition where the transfer of these units results in aggregated global emissions that are either the same or lower.
• Four specific factors are identified as influencing environmental integrity: the accounting methods for international transfers, the quality of the units (specifically whether they lead to actual emission reductions in the transferring country), the scope and ambition of the transferring country's mitigation targets, and the presence of incentives or disincentives regarding future mitigation efforts.
• To address the significant risks associated with environmental integrity, it is recommended that policy-makers utilize a combination of different approaches.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2018). Environmental Integrity of International Carbon Market Mechanisms. https://www.sei.org/publications/environmental-integrity-of-international-carbon-market-mechanisms/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Environmental Integrity of International Carbon Market Mechanisms. 2018. https://www.sei.org/publications/environmental-integrity-of-international-carbon-market-mechanisms/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Environmental Integrity of International Carbon Market Mechanisms |date=21 September 2018 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/environmental-integrity-of-international-carbon-market-mechanisms/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2018environmental, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Environmental Integrity of International Carbon Market Mechanisms}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2018}, month = sep, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/environmental-integrity-of-international-carbon-market-mechanisms/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }