Additionality

Additionality is a key requirement for the sale of carbon services. It is a measure of the extent to which an activity would have occurred in the absence of project intervention. Only projects which can be shown to be additional can sell carbon credits.

The exact definition of additionality is still subject to debate and different purchasers may use different definitions. However, in general, additionality may be demonstrated through an analysis of the barriers to implementing activities in the absence of the project. These could include, for example, lack of finances, lack of technical expertise or prohibitive political or cultural environments. For example:

• The provision of financial support, or materials to farmers who have insufficient financial resources to invest in tree planting programmes
• The provision of training and technical support in tree planting activities to communities that have little experience in forestry activities
• Providing institutional support to communities trying to organise community management plans - for example by assisting with the legal registration of land rights

Carbon offsets from some activities will only be additional in certain circumstances, for example:

• If natural regeneration would occur in an area of abandoned agriculture with no intervention the additionality of an afforestation project would be low. However, if the natural regeneration required protection from grazing pressure through fencing, additionality would be higher.