ICVCM Appoints Amy Merrill as Its First Chief Executive Officer

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market named Amy Merrill as its inaugural Chief Executive Officer, effective 1 July 2024. Merrill, who has over 20 years of experience in carbon market policy and law, previously served as the Integrity Council's interim Chief Operating Officer and led the development of Article 6 rules at the UNFCCC secretariat.

Amy Merrill brings extensive expertise to the ICVCM CEO role, including a decade as a senior UNFCCC lawyer where she led the legal framework for Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and the Kyoto Protocol's flexible mechanisms. She also launched the Paris Agreement Implementation and Compliance Committee. Before joining the ICVCM secretariat on secondment from the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), she was Senior Legal Manager at Climate Asset Management, developing investment structures for nature-based projects.

Merrill's appointment comes at a pivotal moment for the voluntary carbon market. The ICVCM has recently won endorsements from the US government, the UK, Singapore's Monetary Authority, and ISDA, with the CCP label gaining recognition as an international integrity standard. Under Merrill's interim leadership, the Integrity Council delivered its first set of CCP-approved methodology decisions and expanded support for its governance framework. C2ES President Nat Keohane noted that Merrill had strengthened the reputation of the Integrity Council during a critical period of market reform.

As CEO, Merrill will oversee the continuation of methodology assessments covering more than 50% of the voluntary carbon market by credit volume, as well as the development of the Integrity Council's assurance and oversight functions. She has also championed the role of carbon markets in channelling finance to communities in the Global South, including through nature-based projects and clean energy. The ICVCM is continuing to assess additional carbon crediting programs including Isometric, Puro.earth, and Social Carbon.

Key figure — Over 20 years of carbon market policy and legal experience