ICVCM Begins Assessing Carbon Credit Programs Against Core Carbon Principles

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) has launched formal assessments of carbon-crediting programs and credit categories against its Core Carbon Principles (CCP) Assessment Framework. Gold Standard became the first major program to apply for CCP assessment, with other programs submitting applications on a rolling basis.

The ICVCM announced on 1 November 2023 that assessments had commenced under its new framework. Programs receiving CCP-Eligible status will be permitted to issue CCP-labelled credits from categories of credits approved by the Integrity Council's governing board. The process runs on two parallel tracks: a Categories Working Group conducts initial screenings of credit categories, while Multi-Stakeholder Working Groups undertake deeper assessments of categories that raise more complex technical or environmental issues.

The CCP label is designed to address a persistent credibility problem in voluntary carbon markets by providing buyers — including Indian corporations with net-zero commitments — with a standardised quality signal. Categories are triaged into three tracks: internal assessment, multi-stakeholder assessment, and categories unlikely to meet requirements. All final decisions rest with the ICVCM governing board and will be published on the ICVCM website, reinforcing the transparency framework that distinguishes this process from earlier market self-regulation.

Multi-Stakeholder Working Groups are being established to assess categories involving renewable energy, forestry, cookstoves, and agricultural land management, among others. The ICVCM expects to complete initial program assessments before announcing which programs achieve CCP-Eligible status. The governing board has signalled plans to ratchet up ambition in successive versions of the Assessment Framework, with the next major revision due for implementation in 2026.

Key figure — 2026 — target year for implementation of the next revised CCP Assessment Framework