What is a fine quality carbon credit score? – Abatable

What is a fine quality carbon credit score? – Abatable

In this series we look at some of the core concepts and principles in carbon offsetting. You can see some of the high-quality carbon projects we support on our website:
https://www.abatable.com/carbon-projects?utm_source=youtube.com&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=marketplace&utm_content=ep5/>
Transcript:
Hello, my name is David Reside and I’m a Carbon Specialist at Abatable.

Today we’ll explain the important criteria to be looking at when considering the quality of a carbon offsetting project.

We describe five main factors which we think need to be assessed to determine whether a carbon offset is of a high-quality. These factors have been summarized from existing publications and initiatives, such as the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA), the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM), the Carbon Credit Quality Initiative (CCQI).

– The first factor is Evidence of additionality. This is a test which looks at the extent to which the project is delivering climate benefit that wouldn’t have otherwise happened in the absence of carbon finance.
– The second factor looks at the robustness of how climate impacts are calculated and verified. Here we look at the methodologies and assumptions used to estimate project emissions, baseline emissions and project leakage, among other things. This also includes considerations around appropriate and scientifically proven verification approaches, as well as the use of reputable verifiers.
– The third factor is assessing the stability and longevity of the project’s climate impact (or otherwise known as permanence). This also considers the appropriate accounting for risks of reversals.
– The fourth test is assessing the quality of the the infrastructure, systems, and legislation in which the project is embedded. This includes policy risks as well as jurisdictional nesting considerations which may affect the project’s value in voluntary carbon markets.
– The fifth factor, and one of the most important ones, is the extent to which the project supports environmental and social benefits outside of climate impact (also known as co-benefits). This includes an assessment of the material ecological value of a project as well as the transformational potential for communities involved directly and indirectly in project activities – including the ”fairness” and distribution of social benefits relative to a business as usual scenario.

As scrutiny increases, companies participating in voluntary carbon markets will need to take steps to navigate the challenges of defining quality and avoid being exposed to reputational risks that may come with their use. At Abatable, we’ve developed a quality assessment framework designed to provide insight into a project’s quality claims while avoiding the oversimplification of using a single rating score. We believe the outcome of our quality assessment framework is a comprehensive, insightful, and readily deployed tool that can guide corporate buyers and investors in the credit procurement process and the identification of high quality projects.

You can learn more about how we define and assess the quality of carbon credits on our website with the link https://www.abatable.com/reports/carbon-credit-quality-assessment-whitepaper?utm_source=youtube.com&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=marketplace&utm_content=ep5