Yes. All Gold Standard Projects seeking the issuance of GS-VERs or GS-CERs shall be demonstrated to be additional, meaning a project has reduced anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG) below those that would have occurred in the absence of the project. One of the ways to demonstrate this is financially (i.e. by doing a financial/investment analysis).
Note that Gold Standard Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI) projects are not required to carry out additional assessment for demonstration of emission additionality over and above what has been done for registration/determination with the CDM Executive Board/JI Supervisory Committee unless the project falls into a category that is deemed non-Additional in an applicable Gold Standard Activity Requirement. In such cases the relevant Activity Requirement shall take precedence.
Gold Standard Projects shall use either a UNFCCC-approved or a Gold Standard-approved additionality tool to demonstrate project additionality, with the exception of specific Activity or Product Requirements as stated in the relevant documentation. Where appropriate under specific Activity Requirements, small-scale Gold Standard Projects can use the latest version of the CDM “Methodological Tool - Demonstration of additionality of small-scale project activities” to demonstrate additionality.
The latest version of the additionality tool available at the time of first submission to Gold Standard shall be applied. This tool may be used by the project until the project
completes Design Certification.