ICVCM Advances High-Integrity Carbon Market Standards at COP29

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market arrived at COP29 in Baku with a clear agenda: accelerating private climate finance through high-integrity carbon credits underpinned by its Core Carbon Principles. The council reported that approximately 27 million unretired CCP-labelled credits are now in the market, representing 3.6% of the total voluntary carbon market.

At COP29, five major carbon-crediting programs — ACR, ART, Climate Action Reserve, Gold Standard, and Verra — are now eligible to use the CCP label on approved methodologies. The first CCP-labelled credits entered the market in 2024, generated by projects focused on reducing potent greenhouse gases including methane and ozone-depleting substances. The ICVCM's two-tick assessment process ensures only credits meeting its environmental and social integrity standards carry the CCP label.

The Integrity Council positioned its Core Carbon Principles as a complementary framework to the Article 6 accounting mechanisms under the Paris Agreement, advocating for adoption of the CCPs as an independent crediting standard that operates alongside the UN system. The council highlighted that high-integrity carbon markets extend benefits beyond emissions reductions to include sustainable development, gender equality, biodiversity protection, and direct finance flows to Indigenous Peoples and local communities in the Global South.

Looking ahead, the Integrity Council's Continuous Improvement Work Programmes are focused on raising ambition across permanence, Paris Agreement alignment, and sustainable development safeguards. The council is working with the UNFCCC and international government organisations to create a harmonised global standard for high-integrity carbon credits, which would allow supply countries to embed these standards in local projects and access broader markets. COP29 marked a key moment to build momentum for scaling the voluntary carbon market.

Key figure — 27 million unretired CCP-labelled credits (3.6% of the market)