What makes a high-quality carbon credit?

World Wildlife Fund (WWF-US), Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Oeko-Institut are developing a “Carbon Credit Guidance for Buyers” to guide buyers of carbon credits amidst a complex market. The project is implemented in four phases: This paper presents the results from Phase 1 in which criteria are identified for assessing the quality of carbon credits. Phase 2 of the project is to develop and test a methodology for assessing carbon credits against the criteria; Phase 3 is to apply the methodology to different carbon credits; and Phase 4 is to combine the Phase 3 results with additional recommendations to produce the “Carbon Credit Guidance for Buyers”.