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Decoding risk in superpollutant projects: a developer’s guide

  • BeZero Carbon
  • Ratings
BeZero Carbon's guide to risk in superpollutant carbon projects, covering key risk drivers and what project developers can do to mitigate them.

Here are some key takeaways

  • Superpollutant projects — many of which fall into the Industrial Methane Emissions, Landfill, and Ozone-Depleting Substances & Other Refrigerants (ODS) sub-sectors — face distinct risk profiles that differ meaningfully from nature-based carbon projects.

  • Additionality risk varies widely across these sub-sectors: the decisive question is whether carbon finance genuinely enables the activity, or whether it would have happened anyway.

  • Carbon accounting risk is driven primarily by the quality of baseline estimation and the robustness of on-site measurement — not just the mechanics of credit calculation.

  • Permanence risk, while generally lower than in nature-based storage, is not absent: forward crediting structures, operational continuity, and long-term monitoring all matter.

  • An independent BeZero Carbon Rating can help developers validate project quality, attract buyers and investors, differentiate from peers, and support stronger go-to-market outcomes.

Contents

  • Introduction

  • How BeZero Carbon assesses risk

  • Additionality: the decisive question

  • Carbon accounting: precision matters more than you think

  • Permanence: more than just the destruction event

  • Why a BeZero Carbon Rating matters for your project

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