Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Projects:An Assessment of Existing Standards and Methodologies

Within the EU there is a distinction between sectors covered by the ETS and so-called non-ETS sectors. Next to offset projects which could potentially be linked to the ETS market, non-ETS sectors could also host voluntary emission reduction (VER) projects. VER credits can be used by local governments to transfer GHG emissions reduction credits in the national and international marketplace to businesses and/or other entities that need them to ‘offset’ their own emissions. Voluntary markets seems to be interesting mainly for smaller offset projects: around 36% of VER comes from project with less than 100,000 ton of CO2e reduction. This provides greater opportunities for small communities to contribute to sustainable development