Characteristics of forest carbon credit transactions in the voluntary carbon market

Lee D H, Kim D, Kim S

ABSTRACT: The voluntary carbon market allows participants to go beyond regulatory carbon offsetting. Recent developments have improved the transparency and credibility of voluntary carbon trading, and forest carbon credit transactions constitute more than half of trade volume. Its workings, however, have not been sufficiently.explored in the literature. This study analyses the characteristics of forest carbon credit transactions in the voluntary carbon market using frequency analysis and logistic regression analysis. The results reveal that the co-benefits of forest carbon projects are an important factor influencing carbon credit transactions. From the higher transaction ratio of credits from CCB Standards-labelled projects and projects using co-benefit-oriented standards, it can be inferred that credits with potential for co-benefits (e.g. fostered corporate social responsibility, social cohesion of local communities and voluntary leadership, and positive environmental impacts) are preferred to those focusing exclusively on emission reduction in the voluntary carbon market. The findings of this study suggest that developing co-benefits is important for strengthening the market competitiveness of forest carbon credits in the voluntary carbon market. Additionally, unlike the compliance carbon market, in the voluntary carbon market stringent carbon standards do not always guarantee credit transaction performance.

自愿碳市场中森林碳信用交易的特点

Lee D H, Kim D, Kim S

摘要：自愿碳市场允许参与者超越监管碳抵消。最近的发展提高了自愿碳交易的透明度和可信度，森林碳信用交易占交易量的一半以上。然而，文献中对其运作方式的探讨还不够充分。本研究采用频率分析法和逻辑回归分析法分析了自愿碳市场中森林碳汇交易的特点。结果显示，森林碳项目的共同效益是影响碳信用交易的重要因素。从使用 CCB 标准标签的项目和使用以共同效益为导向标准的项目碳信用交易比率较高可以推断，在自愿碳市场上，具有共同效益潜力的碳信用（如促进企业社会责任、当地社区的社会凝聚力和自愿领导力以及积极的环境影响）比只注重减排的碳信用更受青睐。本研究结果表明，开发共同效益对于增强自愿碳市场中森林碳信用额的市场竞争力非常重要。此外，与履约碳市场不同，在自愿碳市场中，严格的碳标准并不总能保证信用交易的绩效。

文章来源：Lee, D. H., Kim, D. H., & Kim, S. I. (2018). Characteristics of forest carbon credit transactions in the voluntary carbon market. Climate Policy, 18(2), 235-245.