Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback
ZENODOarrow_drop_down
ZENODO
Research . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Research . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
versions View all 2 versions
addClaim

Decoding the Carbon Footprint Registry: Offsetting Practices within Spain's Voluntary Climate Disclosure Framework

Authors: Ovando, Paola;

Decoding the Carbon Footprint Registry: Offsetting Practices within Spain's Voluntary Climate Disclosure Framework

Abstract

This study examines the structure, functioning, and evolution of Spain’s Carbon Footprint Registry, a government-led mechanism designed to promote voluntary climate disclosure, emissions reduction tracking, and carbon offsetting through domestic forest-based carbon removal projects. The Registry connects forest project developers supplying carbon offsets with organisations seeking to disclose, reduce, and compensate their greenhouse gas emissions. Drawing on a mixed-methods approach, the analysis combines quantitative data from the Registry covering the period 2014–2024 with qualitative evidence from in-depth interviews. It explores participation trends, determinants of organisational offsetting behaviour, patterns of carbon unit retirement, and stakeholder perceptions of the system’s effectiveness and credibility. The results indicate steadily increasing participation, particularly among small and medium-sized enterprises. Length of participation in the Registry emerges as the strongest predictor of offsetting behaviour. While the propensity to offset is highest during the initial years of engagement, it continues to increase at a diminishing rate over time. At the project level, mixed conifer and broadleaf forest initiatives exhibit higher probabilities of carbon unit retirement compared with pure conifer or pure broadleaf stands, suggesting that project composition influences offset uptake, potentially through perceived co-benefits and environmental credibility. Despite these positive trends, overall offsetting activity remains limited, constraining the Registry’s aggregate mitigation impact. Interviewed stakeholders highlight administrative bottlenecks, methodological constraints, and concerns regarding market credibility. The findings underscore the need for methodological refinement, strengthened governance, and closer alignment with emerging regulatory frameworks and integrity standards for carbon markets.

Related Organizations
  • BIP!
    Impact byBIP!
    selected citations
    These citations are derived from selected sources.
    This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    0
    popularity
    This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
    Average
    influence
    This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    Average
    impulse
    This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
    Average
Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback
selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
Upload OA version
Are you the author of this publication? Upload your Open Access version to Zenodo!
It’s fast and easy, just two clicks!