ICVCM Report Recommends Stronger Social Safeguards for Carbon Market Projects

A new report from the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market's Continuous Improvement Work Program calls for strengthened social and environmental protections in carbon-crediting projects, including clearer benefit-sharing standards and more robust Free, Prior and Informed Consent requirements. The report notes that Indigenous Peoples and local communities steward over 40 percent of the world's ecologically intact landscapes but receive less than 1 percent of climate finance.

The Continuous Improvement Work Program Report on Sustainable Development Benefits and Safeguards sets out recommendations developed by multi-stakeholder expert working groups that will inform refinements to the ICVCM's CCP Assessment Framework. Key proposals include project-specific risk categorisation by project type, expanded labour rights safeguards covering different categories of workers and working arrangements, and an explicit prohibition on forced displacement. The report also recommends clearer transparency requirements for benefit distribution, enhanced participatory monitoring of benefit-sharing, and specific ICVCM guidance on benefit-sharing agreements and community partnership arrangements.

The report gives particular attention to gender equity, recommending gender assessments, action plans, and the use of gender-disaggregated data to ensure women and gender-diverse groups are meaningfully included in project design and decision-making. It also proposes requiring overall positive Sustainable Development Goal impact assessments for all activities seeking a CCP label. The ICVCM-supported Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Forum is positioned as a key mechanism to amplify the voices of affected communities. The report acknowledges that while the CCPs already focus attention on community rights, stronger implementation is needed to ensure benefit-sharing is fair and transparent.

The ICVCM indicated it will carefully consider the report's recommendations through further technical analysis and stakeholder consultations before incorporating changes into the Assessment Framework. The Integrity Council framed stronger safeguards not only as an ethical imperative but also as a commercial necessity: projects that operate in line with ambitious social safeguards reduce reputational and operational risks, enhance project credibility, and build lasting community partnerships. Higher social integrity standards are expected to unlock demand from buyers seeking credits that deliver genuine development benefits alongside measurable climate impact.

Key figure — Less than 1% of climate finance reaches Indigenous Peoples and local communities