Projects that are not legally required may still be non-additional if they would have been implemented for other reasons, e.g., because they are attractive investments irrespective of carbon offset revenues. Performance standard tests are intended to screen out this potential set of projects. In developing performance standards, the Reserve considers financial, economic, social, and technological drivers that may affect decisions to undertake a particular project activity. Standards are specified such that the large majority of projects that meet the standard are unlikely to have been implemented due to these other drivers. In other words, incentives created by the carbon market are likely to have played a critical role in decisions to implement projects that meet the performance standard.
PERFORMANCE STANDARD TEST
