ICVCM Approves First Sustainable Agriculture Carbon Credit Methodologies

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market approved two sustainable agriculture methodologies — CAR's US Soil Enrichment Protocol v1.1 and Verra's VM0042 Improved Agricultural Land Management v2.2 — marking the first agricultural category to receive CCP approval. Verra projects operating under earlier versions of VM0042 have the potential to generate 126 million emissions reduction and removal units annually.

The sustainable agriculture category covers improved agricultural practices aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing soil organic carbon removals, including reduced tillage, crop rotation, improved grazing, optimised fertiliser use, and water management. Approximately 1 million credits have been issued under CAR's US Soil Enrichment Protocol v1.1, with two projects currently registered expected to issue over 1 million credits annually. VM0042 v2.2 is a new version with no projects yet registered, but earlier versions of the methodology have potential to generate 126 million ERRs annually under the broader Verra registry.

Both methodologies were approved with conditions. CAR's protocol requires a Project Implementation Agreement with a minimum 40-year permanence commitment and excludes rotational and intensive grazing practices. Verra's VM0042 v2.2 was approved provided soil organic carbon content is measured using any methodology-permitted technique except Digital Soil Mapping, which was not assessed in the current decision. These conditions are designed to ensure credited emissions reductions are genuine, measurable, and durable.

ICVCM Chair Annette Nazareth noted that projects operating under many of the methodologies CCP-approved in 2025 are now preparing to issue large volumes of credits in 2026, and expressed anticipation for the impact of this new generation of high-integrity credits. The assessment of ART TREES HFLD v2.0 was discussed at the latest Governing Board meeting and is expected to return for decision in 2025. The agricultural approval adds a new dimension to the ICVCM's growing portfolio of approved categories spanning forestry, methane, ozone, engineered CDR, and now soil-based removals.

Key figure — 126 million ERRs annually potential from Verra VM0042 earlier-version projects