akar.earthAvoidance credit: Definition
What is an avoidance credit? How avoided-emission credits like REDD+ work, how they differ from removals, and why they dominate Indonesian supply.
An avoidance credit is a carbon credit representing one tonne of CO2 equivalent that was prevented from entering the atmosphere compared with a baseline. It differs from a removal credit, which represents CO2 taken out of the atmosphere.
Why it matters
Avoiding emissions is often the cheapest and fastest climate action. Protecting a tropical forest keeps decades of stored carbon out of the air, which no planting project can match in the short term. Avoidance credits fund that protection. But because they depend on a counterfactual baseline (what would have been emitted), their credibility rests heavily on baseline quality and additionality.
How avoidance is measured
Avoidance = baseline emissions − project emissions − leakage. For forests:
- REDD+: baseline deforestation and degradation rates are projected from historical data or allocated from jurisdictional data, and compared with monitored forest loss.
- Peat: avoided drainage, subsidence and fire emissions are estimated from water table and land use data.
- IFM: avoided logging emissions from reduced or halted harvesting.
Claims frameworks such as the VCMI Claims Code let companies use avoidance credits for contribution-type claims beyond their value chain.
Indonesia angle
Avoidance dominates Indonesian supply. Indonesia contributed 59.3% of Southeast Asia’s NbS issuance, mostly from REDD+. BeZero’s ratings of 11 ex-post Indonesian projects average ‘A’, higher than the typical ‘B’ for NbS elsewhere, so quality can be strong. Still, Indonesian credits trade at a fraction of real abatement cost. Newer methodologies like VM0048 and jurisdictional approaches aim to make avoidance baselines more robust.
Common mistakes
- Treating avoidance and removal credits as interchangeable for net-zero neutralisation claims.
- Judging avoidance credits only on price, without checking baseline method.
- Ignoring leakage in avoided-deforestation projects.
- Assuming a high price or a famous project name guarantees a sound baseline; read the verification report and any rating first.
Related terms
See removal credit, REDD+ and baseline scenario, or explore the climate finance hub.
Frequently asked questions
Are avoidance credits lower quality than removal credits?
Not inherently. Quality depends on additionality, baseline, permanence and safeguards. Avoidance credits serve different claims: they fund emission reductions now, while removals neutralise residual emissions.
What are examples of avoidance credits?
REDD+ avoided deforestation, avoided peat drainage and fire, clean cookstoves, renewable energy and methane capture.