ICVCM Approves Three Biochar and Two IFM Methodologies for CCP Labelling

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market has approved three biochar and two improved forest management methodologies to use its CCP label, with demand for biochar carbon credits having doubled each of the last two years according to MSCI. One further improved forest management methodology — the CAR Mexico Forest Protocol v3 — is approved pending remedial action on leakage accounting.

The three approved biochar methodologies cover CAR's U.S. and Canada Biochar v1.0, Isometric Biochar Production and Storage v1.0, and Verra VM0044 for biochar utilisation in soil and non-soil applications v1.2. All three are new methodologies with no current issuances. Twenty-five projects are registered under Isometric Biochar, with 500,000 credits expected to be issued in 2026, while three projects under VM0044 expect to issue 249,000 credits annually. Biochar stabilises carbon in biomass for hundreds to thousands of years, making it a durable removal category increasingly popular in voluntary carbon markets.

The two approved improved forest management methodologies are Verra VM0045 for improved forest management using dynamic matched baselines from national forest inventories v1.2 and ACR's IFM on Non-Federal US Forestlands v2.1, approved where an appropriate leakage deduction applies to projects decreasing total wood products below a 5 percent de minimis threshold. VM0045 has no credits issued and no registered projects; two projects are under validation expecting to issue 258,000 credits annually. The ACR IFM v2.1 has no credits issued but 18 projects encompassing nearly 500,000 acres. The CAR Mexico Forest Protocol v3 has 8.1 million credits issued but requires remedial action on leakage before any CCP labels can be applied.

The ICVCM stated it would evaluate ACR IFM Version 2.0 separately with a decision expected by September. Annette Nazareth, Chair of the Integrity Council, said the biochar approvals underscore the credibility of an emerging climate solution and the organisation looks forward to seeing more projects developed under newly approved methodologies to expand the pool of high-integrity credits. The approvals reflect the ICVCM's ongoing commitment to diversifying CCP-approved project types beyond forestry, bringing carbon removal and improved land management firmly within the high-integrity market.

Key figure — Biochar credit demand has doubled each of the last two years (MSCI)