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

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.