Two words of advice for any carbon credit buyer: caveat emptor. Carbon credits can deliver emissions reductions and removals that are critical to the fight against climate change. Yet over the past few years, academic studies and investigative reporting have revealed that some carbon credits have little or no impact on greenhouse gas levels. How can your company make sure that the credits it buys are of the highest quality? Thankfully, help is at hand. Carbon market experts at the World Wildlife Fund, Environmental Defense Fund and Okeo Institut have developed an advanced, open-source methodology for evaluating the integrity of carbon credits. Come to learn what their early assessments are telling us about the quality of the carbon credits in the market and how you can use their guidelines to purchase a portfolio of credits that has real impact.

1. CARBON CREDIT
QUALITY INITIATIVE
(CCQI)
Ensuring high-quality
carbon credits
GreenBiz 2022
17 February 2022

2. Carbon Credit Quality Initiative 2
Problem ► Carbon markets could scale without integrity
► Mixed quality of carbon credits currently transacted
► Buyers face reputational risks if credit emission mitigation not
credible
Solution ► Independent, user-friendly scorings to assess the quality of
carbon credits
► Additional guidance for carbon credit buyers, including
countries, companies, organizations and individuals
Impact ► Enhance the demand for high-quality carbon credits and
better inform purchases
► Encourage carbon crediting programs, project developers
and other market participants to pursue the highest
standards
► Shift the market toward higher environmental integrity
What is the Carbon Credit Quality Initiative?
Goal: To provide greater clarity in the markets and help buyers define what it means for a
carbon credit to be considered “high-quality.”
Project Team

3. Carbon Credit Quality Initiative 3
• Defines what is high-quality and standardizes the quality assessment
• Not funded by revenues related to carbon credits
• Experts and researchers are not employed by project developers or
carbon crediting programs
• Scoring of credits on an interval scale, not on a binary basis
• Scorings are free-of-charge, and accessible to all potential buyers
Why is this initiative unique?
Complements other initiatives

4. Carbon Credit Quality Initiative 4
Project Phases
Phase 1
• Developed of criteria for assessing carbon credit quality, validated with
stakeholder consultation
• Released paper, "What makes a high-quality carbon credit?" (June 2020)
Phase 2
• Detailed methodology for applying criteria, validated with stakeholder
consultation
• Released methodology v0.1 (August 2021)
Phase 3
• Re-released methodology v1.0 (November 2021)
• Demo application of the methodology resulting in draft scorings and web
interface. Will release v2.0 methodology along with demo results
Phase 4
• Scale the application of methodology to more project types and carbon
crediting programs and publish scores
• Continuous improvement of methodology and web interface
In progress

5. Carbon Credit Quality Initiative 5
Defining Carbon Credit Quality
QUALITY
OBJECTIVES
1
ROBUST
DETERMINATION
OF THE GHG
EMISSIONS IMPACT
2
AVOIDING DOUBLE
COUNTING
3
ADDRESSING NON-
PERMANENCE
4
FACILITATING A
TRANSITION
TOWARDS NET
ZERO EMISSIONS
5
STRONG
INSTITUTIONAL
ARRANGEMENTS
6
ENVIRONMENTAL
AND SOCIAL
IMPACTS
7
HOST COUNTRY
AMBITION
4 5 7
6
1 3
2
CRITERIA 1.1
ADDITIONALITY
1.2
VULNERABILITY
1.3
ROBUST
QUANTIFICATION
Sub-Criteria 1.1.1
LAWS &
REGULATIONS
1.1.2
NOTIFICATION
OF INTENT
1.1.3
FINANCIAL
ATTRACTIVE-
NESS
1.1.4
BARRIERS

6. Carbon Credit Quality Initiative 6
► Project Type
3.1 Relevance of non-permanence risks
► Carbon Crediting Program
3.2 Provisions to address non-permanence risks
► Quantification Methodologies
1.3 Robust Quantification of Emission Reductions
► Host Country
7 Host Country Ambition
Assessment Levels
EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE

7. Carbon Credit Quality Initiative 7
Demo Application
Carbon Crediting Programs
Project Types
Host Countries
Quantification Methodologies
CDM AR-ACM0003
CAR U.S. Forest Protocol v4.0
GS Afforestation/Reforestation GHG
Emissions Reduction & Sequestration
Methodology V.1
CDM ACM0001
CDM AMS-III.G
CAR U.S. Landfill
CDM AMS-II.G
GS "Technologies and Practices to
Displace Decentralized Thermal Energy
Consumption", ver3.1
Afforestation Landfill gas
utilization
Efficient
cookstoves
Brazil China India Indonesia Kenya
Mexico Nepal
South
Africa
United
States
Viet Nam
UNFCCC CDM

8. Carbon Credit Quality Initiative 8
Steps of the demo application
Standardized
Assessment Sheets
Formation of
Assessment Teams
Draft Assessments
Opportunity for
Program Feedback
Review of Recommendations
and Feedback
Revision of
Assessments
Integrate results in
user interfaces
THE CARBON
CREDIT QUALITY
INITIATIVE
Methodology Revision

9. Carbon Credit Quality Initiative 9
The Scoring Approach
5 ► Very high
4 ► High
3 ► Moderate
2 ► Low
1 ► Very low
Confidence or likelihood that the assessment subject
meets the criterion or quality objective:

10. Carbon Credit Quality Initiative 10
Example of How Scores are Built
1.1.1
LAWS AND
REGULATIONS
1.1.2
NOTIFICATION OF
INTENT
1.1.3
FINANCIAL
ATTRACTIVENESS
1.1.4
BARRIERS
1.2
VULNERABILITY
1.3
ROBUST
QUANTIFICATION
1.1
ADDITIONALITY
1
ROBUST
DETERMINATION
OF THE GHG
EMISSIONS IMPACT
QUALITY
OBJECTIVE
Sub-Criteria
CRITERIA
n/a
4
5 3 n/a
4.4 3
3

11. Carbon Credit Quality Initiative 11
• Interactive web-portal (e.g., simple
and advanced search)
• Excel tool to apply the assessment
methodology
Interactive online tool and digital resource
Choose a project type▼
Choose a carbon crediting program ▼
Choose a quantification methodology ▼
Choose a host country ▼
Use in context of Article 6 ▼
*Illustrative web mock-up*
• Assessment methodology version 1.0
(November 2021)
Resources
Tools for users

12. Thank you!
Contact Us:
carboncreditqualityinitiative@gmail.com
www.carboncreditquality.org