ICVCM approves first Core Carbon Principles credits covering 27 million credits

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market approved its first Core Carbon Principles label for seven methodologies covering an estimated 27 million carbon credits. The benchmark sets quality criteria that Indian carbon-project developers and credit buyers will increasingly be measured against.

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) approved the first carbon credits to carry its Core Carbon Principles (CCP) label, applying it to seven crediting methodologies covering an estimated 27 million carbon credits. The approved projects include methane capture from landfills and the destruction of ozone-depleting foams and refrigerant gases from discarded appliances. Established in 2021 and supported by 250 organisations, ICVCM introduced the CCP last year to set fundamental criteria for high-quality credits grounded in the latest science.

Carbon credit developers, buyers, and the broader voluntary carbon market are affected, as the CCP label aims to help distinguish high-quality from low-quality projects amid inconsistent data on effectiveness. An additional 27 categories accounting for over half the market are under active evaluation, with landfill gas and ozone-depleting substance methodologies covering an estimated 76 million and 4 million credits respectively. Upcoming assessments include widely recognised types such as REDD+, Jurisdictional REDD, and clean cookstoves.

Carbon project developers and corporate buyers should monitor which methodologies earn the CCP label and prepare for assessments of major credit types like REDD+, Jurisdictional REDD, and clean cookstoves expected soon. Companies relying on offsets to bridge net-zero transitions should align purchasing with CCP-approved methodologies to manage integrity risk. Indian developers and buyers in the voluntary carbon market should track CCP criteria as a global benchmark shaping credit quality, pricing, and demand.

Key figure — Credits covered by first CCP-labelled methodologies: an estimated 27 million