Search Climate Insights Directory

This working paper by the World Resources Institute examines the role of nature-based solutions (NBS) as carbon offsets within corporate climate mitigation strategies. It argues that while NBS are critical for achieving global net-zero goals by 2050, their use as offsets is controversial due to risks of 'greenwashing' and technical challenges regarding credit quality. The authors advocate for a 'both/and' approach where companies combine aggressive direct fossil fuel abatement with high-quality NBS investments, emphasizing the need for robust standards to ensure environmental and social integrity.

This research paper by the NewClimate Institute summarizes the increasing momentum of net-zero emissions target setting among subnational actors and corporations, detailing the scale of population, revenue, and emissions covered by these pledges.

This discussion paper examines the proliferation of climate neutrality and net-zero targets set by countries and companies, highlighting a lack of transparency and consistency in how these targets are defined and achieved.

This discussion paper evaluates the Emission Unit Eligibility Criteria (EUCs) for the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), proposing refinements to five key quality criteria to ensure environmental integrity.

This briefing by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines the status of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and the role of Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs). It details the two primary cooperation avenues (Article 6.2 and 6.4), the challenges of establishing a rulebook—including debates over additionality and double counting—and provides examples of pilot projects and national strategies, particularly focusing on Canada's preparations.

This research paper by the NewClimate Institute examines the evolving role of international carbon offsets within the context of the Paris Agreement and the global transition toward net-zero and net-negative carbon emissions.

This report describes the International Institute for Sustainable Development's (IISD) work in the Lake Winnipeg watershed to harvest sustainable wetland biomass, such as cattails, to reduce nutrient loading, improve habitats, and generate carbon offsets through the circular bioeconomy.

The Stockholm Environment Institute provides a guide for companies, organizations, and individuals on the responsible use of carbon offsets within voluntary greenhouse gas reduction strategies to help avert dangerous climate change.

A research paper by the NewClimate Institute estimating the potential supply of carbon offset credits for the International Civil Aviation Organisation's CORSIA scheme from 2013 to 2035.

The 'First Draft Carbon Tax Bill 2015: Response Document' is a December 2017 report by the Centre for Environmental Rights (representing the National Treasury's responses) that details public comments and government feedback on the design of South Africa's carbon tax. It addresses key policy issues including revenue recycling, tax-free allowances for trade-exposed sectors, the treatment of the electricity and aviation sectors, and the alignment of the tax with South Africa's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement.

This explanatory note details the proposed regulations for a carbon offset scheme under South Africa's Draft Carbon Tax Bill, 2015. It outlines the policy rationale, eligibility criteria for projects, the administrative framework led by the Department of Energy, and the procedures for taxpayers to use offsets to reduce their carbon tax liability.

This research paper evaluates the availability of carbon offsets and alternative jet fuels to support the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) goal of carbon-neutral growth for international aviation from 2020 onward.

This report analyzes the unintended mitigation impact of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in 2014, finding that depressed market conditions led to a net mitigation of 480 MtCO2e (roughly 1% of global emissions) as projects continued operating without issuing offsets. It further examines how different CER price recovery scenarios (EUR 2 vs EUR 5+) would affect the supply of credits and the gap between actual reductions and credit issuance.

This report by Friends of the Earth International argues that the 'financialization of nature'—the process of redefining nature as a collection of quantifiable 'ecosystem services' to be traded on capital markets—is a threat to ecological justice. The document contends that these markets, including biodiversity and carbon offsets, serve as cost-cutting tools for corporations to continue industrial destruction while undermining the rights and territories of indigenous peoples and traditional communities.

Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) declares a 'NO REDD' position, opposing all forms of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) schemes, whether market-based or publicly funded. The organization argues that REDD commodifies forests, undermines the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and fails to address the structural causes of climate change by allowing industrialized nations to avoid direct emissions reductions through the use of carbon offsets.

This World Resources Institute working paper assesses the greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction impact and implementation of the Beijing Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) between 2013 and 2015. Using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol: Policy and Action Standard and the Climate Policy Implementation Tracking Framework, the study finds that the ETS contributed to an earlier emissions peak for Beijing, primarily driven by reductions in electricity demand rather than improvements in power production.

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.

This policy brief examines how international greenhouse gas (GHG) emission offsets can be designed to provide a 'net decrease' in emissions, moving beyond the standard one-to-one credit ratio. It analyzes the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to identify project types and accounting methods—such as stringent baselines and discounting—that could generate surplus reductions and a net atmospheric benefit.

This report by Friends of the Earth International and the National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE) investigates land grabbing in Uganda, with a primary focus on oil palm plantations in Kalangala. It documents how the acquisition of land by corporations and governments for commodity crops, carbon offsets, and oil exploration displaces rural communities, violates customary land rights, and causes significant environmental degradation and food insecurity.

This policy analysis by Dave Sawyer examines the discrepancy between Canada's current federal and provincial climate policies and its 2020 emissions mitigation target.