Many environmental standards are expressed in terms of intensity rather than absolute levels. In some cases, intensity standards are associated with tradable credit markets to mitigate the firms’ compliance costs. I develop a jurisdictional model of credit trading under an intensity standard, framed in terms of a Renewable Portfolio Standard for electric utilities. I find that jurisdictions of firms with high costs of compliance may actually be better off by not allowing inter-jurisdictional credit trading. Counterintuitively, increasing the stringency of the intensity standard under credit trading can have the opposite of the intended effect and decrease renewable electricity generation.