The Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping and Global Maritime Forum published a paper proposing a unified approach to “additionality” in the book-and-claim market.
The book-and-claim system enables emissions reductions or sustainable actions, such as the use of low-carbon fuels, to be credited and tracked within the same value chain, even if these actions occur separately from where the fuel is consumed. By establishing a shared interpretation of additionality aligned with shipping regulations, the “Defining Additionality in the Voluntary Book-and-Claim Market in Deep-Sea Shipping” paper aims to create a level playing field among market actors—including registries, issuers, buyers, and verifiers—while acknowledging that criteria for additionality may evolve as the market develops.
High-level principles for additionality in the voluntary book and claim market in deep-sea shipping
According to the paper, to ensure the additionality of voluntary booked and claimed environmental attributes, the approaches taken by companies and registries should strive for:
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Environmental credibility: Companies and registries should seek, through their commercial practices and registry design and operation, to ensure to the highest extent possible that booked and claimed environmental attributes generate GHG reductions additional to those prescribed by regulations.
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Transparent sharing of information: Companies and registries should seek to enable the sharing of information between buyers and sellers about policy measures relevant to the emission reduction intervention in question and about the extent of the policy measures’ coverage of the intervention. Information regarding the extent to which the effectiveness or outcome of the intervention is impacted by policy measures should also be shared between the buyer and seller. Registries should provide sufficient information to buyers in advance of a purchase to mitigate any information asymmetry.
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Clear and fair commercial practices: Companies should seek to create a level playing field for all parties by ensuring that the value of additional environmental attributes is fairly reflected in the terms and pricing. This will help build confidence and promote a robust voluntary market.
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Pragmatism and feasibility: Companies and registries should seek to document and verify additionality through accurate methods that ensure data integrity and do not place undue administrative burdens on any party. Providing and accessing this data should be made easy for all parties.
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Consistency: Companies and registries should seek to align their treatment of additionality within the maritime industry, and ideally across the full logistics value chain.
Building confidence in the voluntary markets for maritime decarbonisation means promoting convergence between buyers and sellers about what actions go beyond compliance. We hope this paper provides common sense guidance that can help the voluntary market grow while maintaining credibility,
… said Jesse Fahnestock, director of decarbonisation.
