Now you have an idea of what additionality is and the benefits it has both for the environment and your projects, the next thing to look at is how you can actually demonstrate additionality within your project, as well as how it will be assessed by outside sources. Due to the ever-changing nature of climate action, there are also many other methods not mentioned here, but we will show you the methods that are considered to be the most common and effective.
- Investment Analysis
- Technology Additionality
- Incrementality Assessment
- Barriers Analysis
- Leakage Assessment
Investment Analysis
This method of demonstrating additionality determines whether the project would have been financially viable without revenue from the sale of carbon credits. This ensures that the project is being done with carbon emissions as the main benefit, and not an afterthought behind making profit. If the project would not proceed without this income, it can be considered additional.
Technology Additionality
It will be evaluated whether or not a project introduces a new technology or methodology that is not the standard practice in the industry. If the technology used is more advanced or innovative, it may demonstrate additionality (although this is not guaranteed and is assessed on a case-by-case basis) due to the fact it is bringing advances to the industry beyond the standard baseline.
Incremental Assessment
Incrementality examines whether the project results in additional emission reductions beyond what would have occurred through natural market forces. This means additionality would rely on comparing the project’s emissions to a baseline scenario where no intervention occurs, and the planet is simply left alone to heal naturally.
Barrier Analysis
To demonstrate that there are barriers expressed as risks, which prevent the project activity from going forward but do not prevent the implementation of alternatives.
Leakage Assessment
This refers to the potential shifting of emissions from the site or location of the project to other areas, nearby or otherwise. For example, if a project saves carbon emissions in one area, but by doing so causes the same or greater number of emissions elsewhere, this cannot be considered Additionality assessment may involve evaluating whether the project avoids or minimizes leakage to ensure that emission reductions are not merely displaced.
Figure 1.
