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Assessing Credibility in the Voluntary Carbon Market? Developing, testing, and evaluating a credibility assessment framework using the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market as a case study

Ziegler, Tim LU (2023) In IIIEE Master Thesis IMEM01 20231
The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics
Abstract
Voluntary carbon markets (VCM) have grown significantly over the past years. However, the VCM is facing a ‘credibility crisis’ due to governance, technical, and market issues. Notably, despite the significant role of credibility in the VCM, a lack of systematic assessment frameworks in this area is discerned. To address this knowledge gap, this thesis set out to build, test, and evaluate a framework for assessing the credibility of international standard-setting (ISS) initiatives. The thesis follows a three-staged process: (i) the development of an assessment framework, (ii) its application to the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM), and (iii) the evaluation of the proposed framework. Using a set of complementary... (More)
Voluntary carbon markets (VCM) have grown significantly over the past years. However, the VCM is facing a ‘credibility crisis’ due to governance, technical, and market issues. Notably, despite the significant role of credibility in the VCM, a lack of systematic assessment frameworks in this area is discerned. To address this knowledge gap, this thesis set out to build, test, and evaluate a framework for assessing the credibility of international standard-setting (ISS) initiatives. The thesis follows a three-staged process: (i) the development of an assessment framework, (ii) its application to the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM), and (iii) the evaluation of the proposed framework. Using a set of complementary analytical methods, the research outcomes reveal numerous findings. First, credibility assessments should be based on multiple dimensions to encompass the concept’s complexity and multilayeredness. Second, the ICVCM is credible in terms of the level of expertise involved and diverse stakeholder engagement but fails regarding transparency and impartiality. Third, credibility assessments are context specific and only valid at a given place and time as normative beliefs and an initiative’s function evolve over time. This thesis contributes to improving the functioning of the VCM as it helps to identify areas for improvement within ISS initiatives, raise awareness of the imperfection of the VCM, and distinguish good practices from bad ones. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Ziegler, Tim LU
supervisor
organization
course
IMEM01 20231
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
voluntary carbon market, ICVCM, credibility, assessment framework
publication/series
IIIEE Master Thesis
report number
2023:25
ISSN
1401-9191
language
English
id
9133772
date added to LUP
2023-08-10 13:03:05
date last changed
2023-08-10 13:03:05
@misc{9133772,
  abstract     = {{Voluntary carbon markets (VCM) have grown significantly over the past years. However, the VCM is facing a ‘credibility crisis’ due to governance, technical, and market issues. Notably, despite the significant role of credibility in the VCM, a lack of systematic assessment frameworks in this area is discerned. To address this knowledge gap, this thesis set out to build, test, and evaluate a framework for assessing the credibility of international standard-setting (ISS) initiatives. The thesis follows a three-staged process: (i) the development of an assessment framework, (ii) its application to the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM), and (iii) the evaluation of the proposed framework. Using a set of complementary analytical methods, the research outcomes reveal numerous findings. First, credibility assessments should be based on multiple dimensions to encompass the concept’s complexity and multilayeredness. Second, the ICVCM is credible in terms of the level of expertise involved and diverse stakeholder engagement but fails regarding transparency and impartiality. Third, credibility assessments are context specific and only valid at a given place and time as normative beliefs and an initiative’s function evolve over time. This thesis contributes to improving the functioning of the VCM as it helps to identify areas for improvement within ISS initiatives, raise awareness of the imperfection of the VCM, and distinguish good practices from bad ones.}},
  author       = {{Ziegler, Tim}},
  issn         = {{1401-9191}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{IIIEE Master Thesis}},
  title        = {{Assessing Credibility in the Voluntary Carbon Market? Developing, testing, and evaluating a credibility assessment framework using the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market as a case study}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}