The environment that we live in is harmed by the pollution and destruction arising from human activity. Each interaction that damages the natural world or releases a greenhouse gas into the atmosphere will have a measurable detrimental effect on our living world. 

In this context, environmental integrity refers to the wholeness of the environment and its component parts. Climate action should aim to effectively preserve and secure this environmental integrity. This means that we do our best not to upset the natural equilibrium and to repair previous damage where possible.

The concept of environmental integrity is, in a modified form, integral to the make-up of the Paris Agreement, which binds countries to a commitment that ensures activities will contribute no more than a 1.5°C temperature increase relative to pre-industrial levels. Failure to achieve this target will hasten environmental breakdown rather than preserve environmental integrity.

In the jargon of carbon credit projects, environmental integrity is synonymous with the quality of carbon credits: when carbon credits are assessed as having “low environmental integrity”, this means they are of poor quality.