Environmental Integrity of International Carbon Market Mechanisms

This research paper identifies factors influencing the environmental integrity of international carbon market mechanisms under the Paris Agreement and suggests that policy-makers use a combination of approaches to mitigate associated risks.

• The paper defines environmental integrity in the context of international carbon market units as being ensured when 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 generated units (specifically if they lead to emission reductions in the transferring country); the scope and ambition of the transferring country's mitigation target; and the presence of incentives or disincentives regarding future mitigation actions, such as the risk of countries narrowing future targets to increase unit sales.
• The author recommends that policy-makers employ a combination of different approaches to manage the significant risks posed to environmental integrity.

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} }