A Ton is Not Always a Ton: A Road Test of Landfill Manure and Afforestation/Reforestation Offset Protocols in the U.S. Carbon Market

This research paper evaluates the consistency of carbon offset credits across five different programs in the U.S. carbon market, specifically focusing on landfill methane, manure management, and afforestation/reforestation projects.

• The authors analyzed sample offset projects across five programs: the Clean Development Mechanism, Climate Action Reserve, Chicago Climate Exchange, Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and the U.S. EPA’s former Climate Leaders programme.
• Variations in protocols regarding baseline setting, measurement rules, emission factors, accounting boundary definitions, and discounts for landfill methane, manure management, and afforestation/reforestation projects result in significant differences in credited offsets, sometimes exceeding 50%.
• The study suggests that modifying and harmonizing protocols could improve the quality and credibility of offsets and facilitate the future linking of trading systems and units.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2013). A Ton is Not Always a Ton: A Road Test of Landfill Manure and Afforestation/Reforestation Offset Protocols in the U.S. Carbon Market. https://www.sei.org/publications/a-ton-is-not-always-a-ton-a-road-test-of-landfill-manure-and-afforestation-reforestation-offset-protocols-in-the-u-s-carbon-market/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. A Ton is Not Always a Ton: A Road Test of Landfill Manure and Afforestation/Reforestation Offset Protocols in the U.S. Carbon Market. 2013. https://www.sei.org/publications/a-ton-is-not-always-a-ton-a-road-test-of-landfill-manure-and-afforestation-reforestation-offset-protocols-in-the-u-s-carbon-market/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=A Ton is Not Always a Ton: A Road Test of Landfill Manure and Afforestation/Reforestation Offset Protocols in the U.S. Carbon Market |date=18 June 2013 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/a-ton-is-not-always-a-ton-a-road-test-of-landfill-manure-and-afforestation-reforestation-offset-protocols-in-the-u-s-carbon-market/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2013ton, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{A Ton is Not Always a Ton: A Road Test of Landfill Manure and Afforestation/Reforestation Offset Protocols in the U.S. Carbon Market}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2013}, month = jun, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/a-ton-is-not-always-a-ton-a-road-test-of-landfill-manure-and-afforestation-reforestation-offset-protocols-in-the-u-s-carbon-market/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }