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Multi-criteria assessment of partial crediting policies in carbon offset projects
Conference presentation

Multi-criteria assessment of partial crediting policies in carbon offset projects

Graham Ashford
USC Research Conference, 2013 (Sunshine Coast, Australia, 01-Jul-2013–05-Jul-2013)
University of the Sunshine Coast
2013
url
https://www.usc.edu.au/View
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Abstract

Environmental Science and Management carbon offset projects climate change Kyoto Protocol
Carbon offset projects are an important component of international efforts to address climate change under the Kyoto Protocol. Nonetheless, their contribution to the transfer of technology and sustainable development benefi ts to poor countries is the subject of considerable debate. Among the reforms that have been proposed to address these concerns is the introduction of policies whereby offset projects would receive tradable credits for only a fraction of the emissions that they actually reduce. A system of partial crediting, it has been argued, could be used to direct investment toward particular project types and locations while producing additional atmospheric benefi t. At last year's research conference, the author presented the results of a theoretical investigation of partial crediting that used mathematical analysis to test for the existence of optimal rates of partial crediting. In this year's presentation, the author will discuss the results the next steps of that research: an empirical analysis of partial crediting policies using global abatement data and non-linear mathematical optimisation techniques. The author used submissions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to define a set of 19 policies that represented various arguments about if and how partial crediting should be used. The author then simulated the equilibrium outcomes of each policy with regard to investment decisions in the global carbon market and used multi-criteria analysis to compare and rank the outcomes. The results were revealing. When multiple criteria including costs, sustainable development outcomes, investment in Least Developed Countries, and atmospheric benefi ts were considered together, the policies that performed the worst were the former and current European Union policies for carbon offset use. This is of considerable signifi cance given that the EU's Emission Trading Scheme, which Australia recently linked to, is the world's largest carbon market and is responsible for the vast majority of offset investment.

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