Leakage refers to the unintended shift of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions outside the project boundary due to the project’s activities. In climate mitigation projects, this can happen when reducing emissions in one area causes an increase in emissions elsewhere. For example, if a forest conservation project prevents deforestation in one region but leads to increased logging in another, that is considered leakage. To maintain credibility, projects must assess, quantify, and mitigate leakage as part of their carbon accounting.
