At present, there are no specific International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) or US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP), or interpretations of those standards, that relate to carbon credit markets. This whitepaper addresses key accounting questions under existing guidance for both compliance carbon credits and voluntary carbon credits.

The paper addresses key accounting issues for entities that expect to use carbon credits to offset their own emissions, those that will trade these instruments in a secondary market and those that intend to do a combination of both. The paper addresses issues relevant to the application of both IFRS and US GAAP, although IFRS is the principal focus.

ISDA encourages the International Accounting Standards Board and the Financial Accounting Standards Board to work together where possible to develop consistent accounting standards for carbon credits under IFRS and US GAAP.