Agroforestry and reforestation with the Gold Standard-Decision Analysis of a voluntary carbon offset label

Abstract

Voluntary standards can help to ensure the quality of projects eligible for carbon offsetting, i.e., selling carbon certificates. However, in deciding on whether to adopt such standards, the managers of carbon offset projects are faced with uncertainty regarding the costs and risks involved. Decision Analysis provides a helpful set of tools that can support such decisions by forecasting outcomes under different scenarios. We applied Decision Analysis methods to generate models for the decisions to certify two projects in Costa Rica with the voluntary carbon offset label “The Gold Standard”. We evaluated certifying an additional site of a partially certified reforestation project, as well as the initial certification of an agroforestry project.

Publication
Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, (27), 2, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-021-09992-z