Assessing crediting scheme standards: ensuring unit quality under the Paris Agreement

The authors develop a framework to evaluate the quality of carbon offset credits, specifically focusing on whether one unit represents a genuine emission reduction of at least 1 tCO2e. This is intended to support the use of existing crediting schemes for internationally transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs) under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, ensuring that such mechanisms maintain environmental integrity and do not increase global emissions.

• The authors define unit quality as the requirement that the issuance or transfer of a single unit (1 tCO2e) corresponds to an actual emission reduction of at least 1 tCO2e in the transferring country relative to a baseline where the carbon market program did not exist.
• Environmental integrity is a fundamental requirement for cooperative mechanisms under the Paris Agreement, meaning these mechanisms must not lead to higher global emissions than would occur without such cooperation.
• Under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, countries may utilize existing carbon markets, such as emissions trading schemes (ETSs) and crediting schemes, to certify internationally transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs) used to meet nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2021). Assessing crediting scheme standards: ensuring unit quality under the Paris Agreement. https://www.sei.org/publications/assessing-crediting-scheme-standards-ensuring-unit-quality-paris-agreement/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Assessing crediting scheme standards: ensuring unit quality under the Paris Agreement. 2021. https://www.sei.org/publications/assessing-crediting-scheme-standards-ensuring-unit-quality-paris-agreement/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Assessing crediting scheme standards: ensuring unit quality under the Paris Agreement |date=29 October 2021 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/assessing-crediting-scheme-standards-ensuring-unit-quality-paris-agreement/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2021assessing, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Assessing crediting scheme standards: ensuring unit quality under the Paris Agreement}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2021}, month = oct, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/assessing-crediting-scheme-standards-ensuring-unit-quality-paris-agreement/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }