Transparency
Making relevant information accessible enough for others to understand and examine decisions or results.
Example
Clear methods and visible limitations help readers assess a climate claim.
The catch
Publishing large volumes of data can still leave important questions unanswered.
Related terms
Audit trail, Calibration, Carbon neutral, Climate positive, Conflict of interest, Contribution claim
In more depth
Transparency, explained.
Useful transparency answers the questions a sceptical reader would ask, in a form they can check. In carbon markets, that means a public carbon registry showing project documents, monitoring reports and each credit's status, plus retirement records naming the beneficiary and the claim the credit supports. The ICVCM includes transparency among its Core Carbon Principles.
Under the Paris Agreement, the word also names a procedure. National reports go through technical expert review and then a session where other countries can question the results. Version history matters too. When an organisation revises a past figure, readers should be able to see what changed and why.