Assessing Credit Quality
Not all carbon credits are created equal—the quality criteria that matter
Your Progress
Section 3 of 5The Five Pillars of Credit Integrity
Voluntary carbon markets face quality challenges. These criteria separate high-integrity credits from junk:
Additionality
Would the emission reduction have happened anyway?
Project wouldn't exist without carbon finance (e.g., early-stage DAC)
Activity already financially viable or legally required (e.g., solar in grid parity markets)
Permanence
How long does the carbon stay out of the atmosphere?
Millennial-scale storage (geological sequestration, mineralization)
Short-term or reversible (forest subject to fire, soil carbon easily lost)
Leakage
Does protecting one area just shift emissions elsewhere?
System-level intervention with no displacement (DAC, waste methane capture)
Protecting forest while deforestation continues regionally
Measurement & Verification (MRV)
Can reductions be accurately quantified and verified?
Direct measurement, continuous monitoring, third-party audit (point-source capture)
Model-based estimates, infrequent checks, self-reported (behavioral projects)
Co-benefits & Safeguards
Does the project generate broader social/environmental value?
Biodiversity, livelihoods, health, FPIC compliance (community forestry)
No co-benefits or potential harms (monoculture plantations, land grabs)
🔍 Carbon Credit Quality Analyzer
Rainforest Reforestation
Nature-based Removal · $12/tCO₂
Quality Assessment:
Would land have been reforested anyway? Requires careful baseline setting.
Forests vulnerable to fire, disease, logging. Credits at risk for decades.
Deforestation may shift elsewhere. Needs regional monitoring.
Satellite monitoring improving, but ground-truthing remains challenging.
Biodiversity, watershed protection, local livelihoods—strong co-benefits.
⚠️ Key Risks
- •Fire
- •Illegal logging
- •Drought
- •Non-permanence
✓ Strengths
- •Ecosystem benefits
- •Cost-effective
- •Community support
- •Scalable
⚠️ The Integrity Crisis
Investigations have exposed widespread overcrediting in voluntary markets: projects that weren't additional, forests that were never threatened, carbon that was recounted. This erodes trust and undermines climate action.
Response: New integrity initiatives (ICVCM Core Carbon Principles, VCMI Claims Code) are raising standards. Buyers must conduct due diligence—not all credits are climate-aligned.