Gold Standard Program Model

The Gold Standard is a certification standard for carbon mitigation projects and is recognized internationally for quality and rigour in both the compliance and voluntary carbon markets.

This tool is included in the Development Impacts Assessment (DIA) Toolkit from the LEDS Global Partnership.

Approach

The Gold Standard certification process is used worldwide to certify renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste management and land use & forest carbon offset projects to ensure that they all demonstrate greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions and sustainable development benefits in local communities that are measured, reported and verified. It is used to certify Kyoto Protocol Clean Development Mechanism projects and voluntary programs.

When to Use This Tool

This tool is most useful for development impacts assessments focused on:

Social

Economic

Environmental

Learn more about the topics for assessing the impacts of low-emission development strategies (LEDS).

Key Outputs

Calculation of co-benefits arising from improvements in environmental quality, health impacts, physical infrastructure impacts, the availability and price of transportation, energy, and other infrastructure and services that impact quality

How to Use This Tool

Level of Expertise
Advanced

Key Inputs

All Gold Standard projects must adhere to a stringent and transparent set of criteria. Gold Standard application requirements detailed at http://www.cdmgoldstandard.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/GSv2.2_Requirements.pdf

Case Studies

Examples of how Gold Standard Program Model has helped people assessing the impacts of low-emission development strategies in countries and regions:

Case studies available at the GS website: http://www.cdmgoldstandard.org/our-activities/case-studies

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