1997-98, the IES group conducted a study on the issues involved in monitoring, evaluating, reporting, and verifying (MERV) the greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions and other benefits of climate change mitigation projects. Protocols and guidelines that have been developed for the MERV of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were also reviewed. Several topics were identified that future protocols and guidelines need to address, such as:

• establishing a credible baseline; accounting for impacts outside project boundaries through leakage; net GHG reductions and other impacts;
• precision of measurement; MERV frequency; persistence (sustainability) of savings, emissions reduction, and carbon sequestration; reporting by multiple project participants;
• verification of GHG reduction credits; uncertainty and risk; institutional capacity in conducting MERV; and the cost of MERV.

Proceedings were published: "The Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Verification of Climate Change Mitigation Projects: Discussion of Issues and Methodologies and Review of Existing Protocols and Guidelines," LBNL Report 40316, by Edward Vine and Jayant Sathaye (1997).

"Guidelines for Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting, Verification and Certification of Climate Change Forestry Projects." LBNL Report No 41877 by Edward Vine, Jayant Sathaye and Willy Makundi (1998).

1998-99, IES group developed MERV guidelines for climate change mitigation projects and evaluated specific climate change mitigation projects that were jointly implemented (under the USIJI program). The U.S. EPA sponsored this work. Estimates of the costs and mitigation potential of climate change mitigation projects are incorrectly reported in the literature since they don't adequately account for costs of transactions, and for the role that barriers play in reducing the market penetration of projects. IES group is developing estimates of transaction costs of such projects in the US and abroad, and quantify the impact of barriers on mitigation potential. The analysis resulted in two major reports on these two topics that are of interest to the research community engaged in integrated analysis of climate change.