ICVCM Names ACR, CAR and Gold Standard as First CCP-Eligible Programs

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market has approved ACR, Climate Action Reserve (CAR) and Gold Standard as the first carbon-crediting programs to meet its high-integrity Core Carbon Principles criteria. The three programs have satisfied requirements across governance, transparency, credit tracking, independent validation, robust quantification, no double counting, and sustainable development safeguards.

The approvals mark the first concrete outcome of the ICVCM's assessment process launched in mid-2023. Board consideration of Verra's Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and ART program assessments is expected in April or May 2024. Social Carbon and Isometric are also expected in that timeframe, while carbon-crediting programs that have not yet applied are still encouraged to do so. Gold Standard has committed to updating its registry to comply with CCP requirements, including providing information on the purpose and beneficiary of credit retirements to enhance accountability.

The first Multi-Stakeholder Working Group meetings covering Improved Forest Management, Sustainable Agriculture, and Grid-Connected Renewable Energy have concluded and write-up is underway. MSWG 4 covering REDD+ and Jurisdictional REDD methodologies is now active. MSWG 5 on clean cookstoves and household biodigesters is set to begin in late April, and MSWG 6 covering biochar, technology-based carbon capture and storage, and industrial biodigesters is planned for May. The ICVCM anticipates having largely completed assessments of methodologies covering more than 50% of issued volume by September 2024.

The ICVCM stated that CCP-labelled credits will appear on the market once methodologies used by CCP-Eligible programs are also approved. The volume of CCP-labelled credits is expected to grow steadily through 2024 as decisions accumulate. CCP-Eligible programs are subject to ongoing assurance and oversight by the ICVCM, including audits, spot checks, and the ability to suspend or terminate a program's eligibility in the event of material non-compliance. A public webinar for the Market Consultation Group is scheduled for 9 April.

Key figure — 50% — share of issued credits in the market for which the ICVCM expects to complete methodology assessments by September 2024