Reproducibility package for Local Visibility Vs. Global Integrity: Evidence From Corporate Carbon Offsetting
Reference ID
RR_WLD_2026_581
Author(s)
Alvaro Pedraza, Tomas Williams, Federica Zeni
Collections
Metadata
Created on
Feb 27, 2026
Last modified
Mar 03, 2026
Overview
Abstract
Although the climate impact of carbon abatement is geographically invariant, this paper documents limited geographic fungibility in voluntary carbon markets. Firms disproportionately retire offsets in countries where they operate. We contrast an Information Channel, whereby local presence improves project screening, with a Goodwill Channel, whereby supporting local projects enhances reputational visibility. The evidence supports the latter. Offsets retired within firms' operational footprints exhibit systematically lower project quality than those sourced abroad, revealing a negative local quality gradient. This pattern persists with firm experience and generates equilibrium price-quality decoupling: in jurisdictions with concentrated local demand, prices become less responsive to project quality. The resulting distortions can generate a "market for lemons" dynamic, reallocating climate finance away from high-abatement-potential regions toward areas with greater multinational presence. Strategic corporate incentives thus weaken the allocative efficiency of voluntary carbon markets.
Reproducibility Package
Scripts
File name
RR_WLD_2026_581
Zip package
RR_WLD_2026_581.zip
Title
Reproducibility package for Local Visibility Vs. Global Integrity: Evidence From Corporate Carbon Offsetting
Date
2026-02
Dependencies
Stata dependencies are listed in the ado folder.
Instructions
See README in reproducibility package.
Notes
Computational reproducibility verified by Development Impact (DECDI) Analytics team, World Bank.
Source code repository
| Repository name | URI |
|---|---|
| Reproducible Research Repository (World Bank) | https://reproducibility.worldbank.org |
Software
Name
Stata
Version
18 MP
Reproducibility
Technology environment
Paper exhibits were reproduced on a computer with the following specifications:
• OS: Windows 11 Enterprise
• Processor: INTEL(R) XEON(R) PLATINUM 8562Y+ 2.80 GHz (4 processors)
• Memory available: 32.0 GB
Technology requirements
Runt time: ~ 5 minutes
Reproduction instructions
To reproduce the findings in this paper, a replicator must:
- Secure Access to Data: Access the datasets not included in the package. See subsection Datasets for more details.
- Download and Place Data: Once the data is accessed, users should place it in the appropriate folder.
- Run the Package: After placing the data in the folder, update the global in line 8 of the do-file "main" to your folder's location and run the do-file.
Since all the data is not included, the package includes the results produced by replicators. These files can be used to review the results presented in the paper.
Data
Datasets
Name
Worldwide Governance Indicators
Note
Country-level institutional quality indicators from the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI). This project uses the governance estimate variable (WGI composite governance index), which captures institutional quality across six dimensions, including rule of law, regulatory quality, government effectiveness, control of corruption, political stability, and voice and accountability.
Files: Data/Raw/wgidataset_with_sourcedata-2025.xlsx.
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License URL
https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/legal/terms-of-use-for-datasets
Data URL
https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
Citation
Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 Revision, World Bank (www.govindicators.org), Accessed December 2025.
Name
FactSet GeoRevenue Data
Note
Firm-level geographic revenue exposures are constructed using proprietary FactSet GeoRevenue and Fundamentals data (https://www.factset.com/data). Access requires an institutional license, and raw data cannot be redistributed. The analysis is based on a FactSet Loader data pull from August 26, 2025; replication requires independent access to the same FactSet products (GeoRevenue, Fundamentals, and Data Management Solutions). More details in the README.
Files: Data/Raw/Proprietary/Factset/factsetgeo.dta
Access policy
Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package.
License URL
https://www.factset.com/legal
Citation
FactSet Research Systems Inc. FactSet GeoRevenue and Firm Fundamentals. Proprietary database, accessed via institutional subscription. Data retrieved using FactSet Loader on August 26, 2025. https://www.factset.com/data
Name
Carbon Offset Issuances and Retirements Database
Note
Compiled by the author using the Berkeley Carbon Trading Project – Offset Issuances & Retirements Database (version archive-v2024-12-year-end), downloaded on January 7, 2025. The raw source consists of registry files from major voluntary carbon markets (ACR, CAR, Gold Standard, and Verra), which were harmonized and linked to project-level characteristics following procedures documented in the README.
Files: Data/Raw/Proprietary/Retirements_&_ListedFirms.dta
Access policy
Data is publicly available and included in the reproducibility package.
License
Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0)
License URL
https://gspp.berkeley.edu/berkeley-carbon-trading-project/offsets-database
Data URL
https://gspp.berkeley.edu/berkeley-carbon-trading-project/offsets-database
Citation
Barbara K. Haya, Aline Abayo, Xinyun Rong, Tyler Gail Bernard, Ivy S. So, Micah Elias. (2025, January). Voluntary Registry Offsets Database v2024-12-year-end, Berkeley Carbon Trading Project, University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved from: https://gspp.berkeley.edu/faculty-and-impact/centers/cepp/projects/berkeley-carbon-trading-project/offsets-database
Name
Sylvera Carbon Credit Ratings and Price Data
Note
Project-level carbon credit quality ratings and historical transaction price data are constructed using proprietary Sylvera subscription data (https://www.sylvera.com). The files used in this project include Full_ratings.csv (project-level ratings, scores, and metadata) and Price_history.csv (historical transaction prices). These data are used to construct measures of offset quality and to analyze price–quality relationships across projects and countries.
The analysis is based on a subscription data extract obtained in 2025.
Files: Data/Raw/Proprietary/Sylvera/Full_ratings.csv; Price_history.csv
Access policy
Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package.
License URL
https://www.sylvera.com/disclaimer
Citation
Sylvera Ltd. Carbon Credit Ratings and Price History Database. Proprietary database, accessed via institutional subscription. Data retrieved 2025.
Name
Carbon Project Ratings (MSCI and BeZero)
Note
Data compiled by the authors. Project-level carbon offset ratings were manually collected from MSCI Carbon Project Ratings (https://www.msci.com/data-and-analytics/carbon-markets/carbon-project-ratings) and BeZero Carbon Ratings (https://bezerocarbon.com/ratings/listings). Neither provider offers bulk download or API access; ratings were retrieved individually via their registration-required web interfaces in January 2025.
For each ProjectID in Retirements_&_ListedFirms.dta, the MSCI and BeZero letter ratings and corresponding numerical scores were recorded (when available) and merged to the retirement-level dataset. See README for more information.
Files: Data/Raw/rating_Bezero_msci.dta
Access policy
Data is publicly available but cannot be redistributed.
Citation
1. MSCI Inc. MSCI Carbon Project Ratings. Restricted-access web-based database. Accessed via the “View our Ratings” interface (registration required). Retrieved January 2025. https://www.msci.com/data-and-analytics/carbon-markets/carbon-project-ratings.
2. BeZero Carbon. BeZero Carbon Ratings. Web-based database (registration required). Retrieved 2025. https://bezerocarbon.com/ratings/listings
Name
ISS STOXX Climate Core – Impact
Note
Firm-level greenhouse gas emissions, sales, and climate-target disclosures are constructed using proprietary ISS STOXX Climate Core – Impact data (https://www.issgovernance.com/sustainability/climate-solutions/climate-analytics/). The dataset covers years 2012–2023 and was delivered via secure SFTP on March 25, 2025.
The original data were acquired directly from ISS STOXX. The dataset iss_with_fs_id_unique.dta used in this replication package was generated by processing the raw ISS data in a separate reproducibility package (https://reproducibility.worldbank.org/catalog/441). The code and data for that package are currently under temporary embargo. The raw ISS data are proprietary and are not included in this replication package.
Files: Data/Raw/Proprietary/ISS/iss_with_fs_id_unique.dta
Access policy
Data access was granted directly to the study authors by the data owners/managers. It was obtained with a custom data license that does not allow for redistribution and it is not included in the reproducibility package.
License URL
https://www.issgovernance.com/terms-use/
Citation
ISS STOXX. Climate Core – Impact (DataDesk Data Set): Firm-Level Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Sales, and Climate Target Disclosures. Proprietary database, accessed via institutional subscription. Data for years 2012–2023. Delivered via secure SFTP on March 25, 2025.
Data statement
Some data is restricted and has not been included in the reproducibility package. For more details, please refer to the README file.
Description
Output
Type
Working Paper
Title
Local Visibility Vs. Global Integrity: Evidence From Corporate Carbon Offsetting
Description
Policy Research Working Papers (PRWP)
Authors
| Author | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Alvaro Pedraza | World Bank | apedrazamorales@worldbank.org |
| Tomas Williams | George Washington University | tomaswilliams@email.gwu.edu |
| Federica Zeni | Politechnique Federale de Lausanne and Swiss Finance Institute | federica.zeni@epfl.ch |
Date of production
2026-02-26
Scope and coverage
Geographic locations
| Location | Code |
|---|---|
| World | WLD |
Keywords
Voluntary Carbon Markets
Operational Footprint
Social Capital
Carbon Offset Quality
Topics
Disclaimer
Disclaimer
The materials in the reproducibility packages are distributed as they were prepared by the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this event do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, the Executive Directors of the World Bank, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the materials included in the reproducibility package.
Access and rights
License
| Name | URI |
|---|---|
| Modified BSD3 | https://opensource.org/license/bsd-3-clause/ |
Contacts
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Alvaro Pedraza | World Bank | apedrazamorales@worldbank.org |
| Reproducibility WBG | World Bank | reproducibility@worldbank.org |
Information on metadata
Producers
| Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reproducibility WBG | DECDI | World Bank - Development Impact Department | Verification and preparation of metadata |
Date of Production
2026-02-26
Document version
1