In what it’s calling a new chapter of trust and standardization for the
voluntary carbon market, the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market gives three
carbon-crediting programs its seal of approval.
The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market
(ICVCM) — an independent governance body for the voluntary carbon
market
(VCM) created to ensure that the VCM accelerates progress towards addressing
climate change — has launched a new chapter for the VCM, naming the first
carbon-crediting programs assessed as meeting the high-integrity criteria set
out in its Core Carbon
Principles (CCPs).
American Carbon Registry (ACR), Climate Action
Reserve (CAR) and Gold
Standard have been approved as CCP-Eligible
programs by the Integrity Council’s Governing Board. To achieve eligibility
means the programs meet the CCP criteria for effective governance; transparency;
tracking; and robust, independent third-party validation and verification. They
have also met the program-related rules for the CCPs on robust quantification of
emission reductions and removals, no double counting, and sustainable
development benefits and safeguards.
In due course, ACR, CAR, Gold Standard and other CCP-Eligible programs — when
approved — will be eligible to use the CCP label on new and existing carbon
credits that are issued under CCP-approved methodologies. In combination, the
Integrity Council’s assessments of carbon-crediting programs and methodologies
aim to define what a high-integrity carbon
credit
looks like.
In parallel, the Integrity Council is progressing with the next batch of
programs: Board consideration of Verra’s Verified Carbon
Standard
(VCS), Architecture for REDD+ Transactions
(ART), Social Carbon and
Isometric assessments are expected in April or
at the latest in May. In line with its commitment to transparency, the Integrity
Council is regularly updating its website with the progress of assessments.
Carbon-crediting programs that have not applied are still able and encouraged to
do so.
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“We are delighted to announce the first results of our assessments and
congratulate ACR, CAR and Gold Standard on meeting our rigorous criteria,” said
Integrity Council Chair Annette
Nazareth. “We are
launching a new chapter for the voluntary carbon market: The CCPs set a global
benchmark for high integrity — building trust, increasing standardization and
making it easy for buyers to identify high-integrity carbon credits. This will
help mobilize private capital at scale for projects to reduce and remove
billions of tonnes of emissions that would not otherwise be viable and will
channel investment to the Global South.”
The past few years have been rocky for the VCM — its efficacy and credibility of has been called into question after carbon offsetting became a cornerstone of many corporate climate-action plans. The Integrity Council was founded in early 2021 in an effort to set and enforce clear global standards, and improve the quality and governance of the VCM. After several well-known offset verifiers’ standards came under the microscope in 2023, the Council began assessing 100 carbon-credit methodologies — the rules that carbon-crediting programs set for designing and implementing different types of projects — against its high-integrity benchmark.
As CCP-Eligible programs, ACR, CAR and Gold Standard are now subject to the
ongoing assurance and oversight functions of the Integrity Council, to ensure
continued adherence to the CCP rules.
By the end of September, the ICVCM anticipates having largely completed
assessment of methodologies covering more than half of the issued volume in the
market — including Jurisdictional REDD, efficient
cookstoves
and new methodologies such as
biochar
— that are expected to rapidly gain market share. Carbon-crediting programs with
a 98 percent share of the market have already applied to use the CCP label and
are being assessed by the secretariat in parallel with the assessment of
categories.
“We are really excited at the start of this next stage of our work at the ICVCM
and are grateful for all the intense work over the last year of our independent
experts and Governing Board members,” said Integrity Council Interim COO Amy
Merrill. “The discussions
and analysis in our multistakeholder assessment process meetings for categories
of carbon credits are demonstrating the widely shared commitment of the market
to this robust process and the value of this collaborative and structured way of
assessing categories of carbon credits in the market.
“We are aware of market expectations and the urgency of introducing the CCP
label to the market. However, it is critical to restoring trust in the VCM that
we take the time needed to get this right. The methodologies we are assessing
are complex; and consistency and care are essential.”
Programs have made changes to comply with the CCP criteria. For example, Gold
Standard announced that it will update its registry to comply with the CCP
requirements — a condition of the program’s CCP approval. When carbon credits
are retired, they will need to provide information on the purpose of retirement
and the entity on whose behalf they are retired. This change is designed to
enhance accountability within the VCM.
“Gold Standard is
delighted that our program is now CCP-eligible following the Integrity Council
for the Voluntary Carbon Market’s assessment,” said Gold Standard CEO Margaret
Kim. “We thank the
Integrity Council for the collaborative way they approached this process and are
delighted that we’ve been judged to comply with the CCP threshold.
“Building the integrity of the carbon market so it can deliver real impact where
it is needed most is vital, and the CCPs represent an important step on this
journey. As a pioneer of the inclusion of sustainable development and
safeguarding in carbon crediting, we will continue to demonstrate integrity and
innovate with our partners to deliver a just
transition
towards global net zero, maximizing sustainable development for the communities
we serve.”
ICVCM says programs can exclude methodologies from the assessment process.
Verra, for example, included its new REDD+ methodology for assessment — its
previous REDD+ methodologies make up 27 percent of credits in the market; but it
is creating a pathway
that enables projects to transition to these latest versions.
CCP-labeled credits will appear on the market once the Integrity Council
approves methodologies used by CCP-eligible programs. The Integrity Council is
committed to keeping up the pace; so, the volume of CCP-labeled credits is
anticipated to grow steadily over 2024.
“ACR has innovated and operationalized key elements of carbon-credit quality
assurance — including scientific peer-reviewed accounting methodologies and
well-accepted approaches to address additionality, leakage, and reversal risk
mitigation; oversight of independent third-party verification; and operation of
a transparent registry for the issuance and tracking of credits,” said ACR
Executive Director Mary Grady.
“So, we deeply appreciate this recognition of the rigor of our program, and we
will continue to engage constructively with ICVCM to defend best practices in a
world that is demanding not only carbon market
integrity,
but also inclusivity and urgency. ACR’s mission is to create confidence in the
integrity of carbon markets; to that end, ICVCM offers an important way to
harmonize standards around a global benchmark of quality.”
The Integrity Council has grouped more than 100 methodologies into 29 categories
for assessment. The majority of categories raise complex issues in specific
areas and are being assessed by expert Multi-Stakeholder Working Groups
(MSWGs).
-
The first three MSWGs — considering improved forestry management (MSWG
1); sustainable agriculture; rice cultivation methane avoidance;
nutrition/nitrogen management; buffer practices; afforestation,
reforestation and revegetation (MSWG 2); and grid-connected
renewable energy, mini-grids, renewable energy (MSWG 3) — have
concluded their work, and these categories of credits are expected to come
to the Board for decision in the coming months.
-
MSWG 4 — considering REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and
Forest Degradation) and Jurisdictional REDD methodologies — is now underway.
-
MSWG 5 — considering clean cookstoves and household biodigesters — is
intended to begin in late April.
-
MSWG 6, intended to begin in May, will consider several issues in
sequence — including biochar, tech-based CCS, industrial biodigesters and
other clusters of methodologies that require a more specialized review.
The Integrity Council’s approach to creating a high-integrity voluntary carbon
market is modeled on that of a financial regulator. Its Core Carbon Principles
and CCP Rulebook are the result of extensive consultation and set the rules of
the market.
The now CCP-Eligible Programs will be subject to the Integrity Council’s
assurance and oversight functions to ensure programs follow its high-integrity
rules and properly monitor CCP labeling of carbon credits. It will audit
programs, make spot checks and respond to complaints. If it finds material
failings it will, after following due process and in a transparent manner, be
able to suspend or terminate the eligibility of the program or methodology.
The Integrity Council intends to improve and strengthen its Assessment Framework
over time — based on experience, the latest science and technology, and new
developments in the market — and will study complex areas where it intends to
raise ambition further in the next version of the CCP rules.
Full details of the assessment decisions and updates about the progress of
ongoing assessments are available on the Integrity Council’s website here for
programs and here for each
category of methodology.
Published Apr 8, 2024 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST
Sustainable Brands Staff