CAC Crowdsourced Climate Implications
Crowdsourced - Carbon Credits
Crowdsourced Climate Implications - Carbon Credits
Crowdsourced7
Executive summary
Background
- Some municipalities have explored the option of selling their GHG reductions to raise revenue to secure future GHG reductions.
- The main issue with this approach is that once a municipality sells any carbon credits, those credits are not available to be applied to their GHG reductions (If this occurred, that would be double counting and a credibility issue).
- Most municipalities don’t have GHG reductions to sell (they need them for their GHG reduction targets).
Carbon Offsets vs. Carbon Credits
- Carbon offset: The purchase of some other entities’ GHG reductions towards your GHG reduction targets
- Carbon credit: The sale of GHG reductions from (in this case, a municipality) to another entity to help them achieve their GHG reductions.
- Once a carbon credit is sold, it can no longer be applied toward the seller’s GHG reduction targets.
- Therefore, if a municipality sells any GHG reductions, they cannot use those reductions towards their targets.
Climate implications
Crowdsourced Climate Implications Questions (Opportunities/Risks)
- Would a carbon budget need to be in place to know if municipalities have credits to sell?
Preliminary Climate Implications
Decision High-Level Questions:
- Is this decision the only option available to meet the need/hoped-for outcome?
- No, municipalities could choose not to sell their credits and instead apply them to their GHG reductions targets.
Mitigation High-Level Questions:
- How does it support/undermine the Climate Action Mitigation Plan?
- Carbon credits undermine the Climate Action Mitigation Plan because they lose those reductions and cannot use them towards their GHG reduction targets.
- What potential consequences could arise from this action? Are we doing more for less?
- The potential consequence of carbon credits is a municipality selling carbon credits and then not being able to use those credits toward their own GHG reduction targets.
- Does this address a legislative/regulatory responsibility?
- No, but there is the risk of double counting since there aren’t clear and transparent rules re reductions and GHG caps.
- No, but there is the risk of double counting since there aren’t clear and transparent rules re reductions and GHG caps.
Adaptation High-Level Questions:
- How does it support/undermine the Climate Action Adaptation Plan?
- Carbon Offsets are a mitigation tool, not an adaptation tool.
- Carbon Offsets are a mitigation tool, not an adaptation tool.