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VERIFIED CARBON STANDARD

The world's leading greenhouse gas crediting program

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Katingan Peatland Restoration and Conservation Project in Indonesia.

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Program Overview

The Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program is the world’s most widely used greenhouse gas (GHG) crediting program.

The Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program is the world’s most widely used greenhouse gas (GHG) crediting program. It drives finance toward activities that reduce and remove emissions, improve livelihoods, and protect nature. VCS projects have reduced or removed more than one billion tons of carbon and other GHG emissions from the atmosphere. The VCS Program is a critical and evolving component in the ongoing effort to protect our shared environment.

By marrying scientific rigor and transparency with innovative thinking, the VCS Program has continually brought new projects, organizations, and people into the voluntary carbon market, as well as a growing number of compliance markets, and given them the necessary confidence to participate.

Why Carbon Markets?

Individuals, companies, or organizations often cannot, in the short term, completely reduce their GHG emissions. Buying credits on the voluntary carbon market enables them to offset those emissions that, at this point, cannot be avoided. This does more than simply pay another entity to avoid polluting or remove emissions from the atmosphere. VCS projects also provide access to health services and education and other sustainable development benefits that improve the quality of life in project communities.

The voluntary carbon market is distinct from compliance markets, which are largely driven by government policies or legally binding agreements. In some compliance markets, entities can purchase and use carbon credits generated by carbon projects to comply with the respective regulations or requirements.

The VCS in Compliance MarketsExternal Link Icon

To feel confident that their purchase had the intended effect, many buyers select credits issued by Verra’s VCS Program. Verra’s diligence and transparency underpins the positive outcomes of carbon projects it certifies.

Carbon credit sellers, too, want markets with quality control guarantees, which help attract a solid pool of buyers, and the VCS Program ensures the quality and integrity of the projects it certifies.

Why the VCS?

The positive outcomes of carbon projects are underpinned by Verra’s diligence and transparency: buyers of credits issued by Verra’s VCS Program feel confident that their purchase had its intended effect; carbon credit sellers want markets with quality control guarantees, which help attract a solid pool of buyers.

The VCS Program has become the largest GHG crediting program in the world because of its rigorous rules and requirements; its adaptiveness to new scientific, technological, and regulatory developments; and the transparent information about its projects and their activities, which is publicly available on the Verra Registry.

These characteristics result in GHG emission reductions or removals that are real, measurable, additional, permanent, independently verified, conservatively estimated, uniquely numbered, and transparently listed (VCS Quality Assurance Principles).

The VCS Program has been endorsed by the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA) and meets the ICROA Code of Best Practice.

Areas of focus

Blue Carbon

Blue carbon refers to carbon stored in the above and belowground biomass and sediments of coastal and marine environments. 
graphic illustration of a boat with carbon stack floating down river

Carbon Capture and Storage

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a key technology for supporting the energy transition and achieving a net zero future.

Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use

Boosting carbon sequestration through AFOLU is an effective approach to reducing and removing emissions.

Energy Transition

Verra’s VCS Program includes robust, science-based emission quantification methodologies for accelerating the energy transition and the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors.

How it Works

Whether focusing on geologic carbon sequestration, forestry, agriculture, or another sector, projects developed in the VCS Program must undergo a rigorous assessment process. Once certified, these projects are eligible to be issued Verified Carbon Units (VCUs), with one VCU representing one metric tonne of carbon dioxide reduced or removed from the atmosphere. Projects can monetize these VCUs in the carbon market to support and scale up their climate change mitigation activities.

VCUs issued by projects that meet additional requirements can be tagged with a label that allow the associated VCU to be traded in certain markets. These labels can indicate a project’s compliance with non-VCS standards programs or that it is qualified to be traded in specific markets. Some of these labels pertain to other Verra standards, such as the Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards, while others are external to Verra, such as the W+ Standard for projects that empower women.

VCS Standard, Accounting Methodologies, Registry Systems, Independent Auditing

VCS STANDARD

The VCS Standard (PDF) lays out the rules and requirements that projects must follow in order to be certified; in addition, the VCS Program includes three other essential components:

INDEPENDENT AUDITING

VCS Program projects are subject to independent auditing by both Verra staff and qualified third parties. This ensures that a project meets the standard’s rules and requirements; that its methodologies are properly applied; that it complies with local laws and regulations; and that no local stakeholders experience negative repercussions because of the project.

ACCOUNTING METHODOLOGIES

Accounting Methodologies set out detailed procedures and peer-reviewed emission reduction formulas for quantifying the GHG benefits of a project. Each methodology covers a specific set of activities for a distinct project type.

REGISTRY SYSTEM

Finally, all information related to VCS projects is stored and publicly available in a Registry System. The Verra Registry also tracks the generation and retirement of all VCUs.

In addition to this system of checks and balances, each VCS Program project undergoes a public comment period during which anyone can indicate whether they believe the project meets VCS Program standards. These comments enter the Verra Registry and must be considered by the project leads.

See Recent VCS News

Starting a VCS Project: What to Expect

Looking to develop a project using the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS)? This section outlines important information you should know before you begin.

1. Before You Begin

Before beginning to develop a project in the VCS Program, familiarize yourself with the process and requirements.

  • Ensure that your project complies with the VCS rules and requirements laid out in the VCS Standard.
  • Check if your planned project activities are eligible in the VCS Program. Review Table 1 in the VCS Standard for non-Agricultural, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU) projects and Appendix 1 for AFOLU projects.

The key steps of project development are:

  • Pipeline listing based on a draft project description document
  • Validation by a third-party auditor (validation and verification body (VVB) who approves the final project description of the project. Upon completion this results in successful project registration
  • Verification by the VVB against the projects monitoring plan confirms the emission reductions and removals the project has achieved.

Once verification has been completed and approved by Verra, a project proponent can request the issuance of credits.

For more detailed guidance on this process and additional details (opening a registry account etc.) please refer to the Registration and Issuance Process document.

Project developers are responsible for finding a suitable methodology for calculating the project’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. If there is no suitable Verra or Clean Development Mechanism methodology, it may be necessary to develop a new one.

Project developers also contract the VVBs directly.

All projects undergo a 30-day public comment period during pipeline listing. Comments received during this time must be addressed by the project developer.

Review the “Develop a VCS Project” page for more details.

Please note that Verra staff cannot assist you with the development of a project. We can only respond to questions related to our rules and requirements.

2. Fees and Finances

VCS project development costs vary from project to project.  They fall into three categories:

  • Verra fees as outlined in Section 2 of the VCS Program Fee Schedule.
  • Project development fees include project development and operations, monitoring, and consultants fees.
  • Auditing fees payable directly to the VVB.

As a standard-setting body, Verra does not track external costs (those associated with project development or auditing).

3. Timelines

There are two timelines project proponents need to be aware of before starting to develop a VCS project: 1) the timeline for project registration, and 2) the timeline for VCU issuance.

1. Timeline for Project Registration

After a project proponent submits the draft project description, a project undergoes a 30-day public comment period.

After this, the project goes through validation during which a validation/verification body (VVB) reviews the project description and the comments received during the public comment period.

The length of the validation process varies from project to project. It can take up to a year or longer (in rare cases).

After a successful validation, the project proponent requests project registration with Verra as outlined in the Registration and Issuance Process document.

2. Timeline for VCU Issuance

Before a project can be issued VCUs, the following steps need to be completed:

  1. Project activities need to be implemented and the GHG reductions and removals need to be monitored;
  2. A validation/verification body (VVB) needs to verify the emission reductions and removals the project achieved;
  3. Verra needs to approve the verification.

Upon successful verification, the project can request VCU issuance. The exact timeline for this process varies from project to project.

4. Next Steps

Once a project has been registered and issued VCUs, the project proponent can sell these credits on the open market, typically the voluntary market and occasionally in a compliance market. If an entity uses VCUs to offset part of its carbon footprint, these units will be “retired”, i.e., they will be taken out of circulation so they can only be used for such a purpose once.

As a mission-driven, non-profit standard-setter Verra maintains an impartial position in the marketplace and does not buy, sell, or trade in carbon credits. Any negotiations and purchase agreements between the project developers and the buyers are established outside Verra Registry. Verra only retires credits per the instruction of the project proponent.

Additional Resources:

(This list does not represent an endorsement by Verra.)

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VCS at a glance

  • 1.1B+

    Tonnes of greenhouse gases removed

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  • 2,000+

    VCS projects around the world

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  • 95

    Countries using the VCS for projects

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Frequently Asked Questions

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General Questions

Verra provides the rules, requirements and methodologies that help guide stakeholders. Stakeholders may contact Verra with specific questions about our rules and process.

In case you need assistance with the project development process, the International Emissions Trading Association has a list of members who can assist you.

As a standard-setting body, Verra does not offer training or specific advice on Verra’s programs. Verra regularly hosts webinars on select programs, methodologies, rules and requirements.

Recordings of past webinars can be found on Verra’s website under “Podcasts and Webinars”.

You may subscribe to Verra’s mailing list and follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn for information about any future webinars.

You may subscribe to Verra’s mailing list and follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn for information about any future webinars.

Verra is headquartered in Washington DC, United States. While our staff are based around the world, Verra does not have specific country representatives. For any country-specific matters, please email info@verra.org.

Please visit our “Contact Us” page for information about how to reach out to us.

To feature Verra’s logos on your website or communications, please see our Logo Use page.

Methodology

Methodologies set out detailed procedures for quantifying the actual greenhouse gas benefits of a project and provide guidance to help project developers determine project boundaries, set baselines, assess additionality, and ultimately quantify the GHG emissions that were reduced or removed.

All Verra-approved methodologies can be found on our “Methodologies” page. Please note that Verra also accepts methodologies developed under the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism. The same is true for methodologies developed by the Climate Action Reserve, except for their forest protocols.

As a first step, we recommend reviewing the “Develop a Methodology” page for a brief overview of the process. First, a methodology developer prepares and submits a concept note to Verra. Upon approval, the methodology developer proceeds with writing the methodology. The methodology will then undergo a public comment period and be assessed by an independent VVB. You can also find the process outlined in the Methodology Approval Process. For methodology requirements, please see the Methodology Requirements. The proposed methodology will be assessed according to these requirements.

Methodology developers can develop new methodologies when no existing methodology addresses their needs. Under the Methodology Approval Process, proposed methodologies are reviewed by Verra and assessed and validated by an approved validation/verification body (VVB).

At times, Verra may choose to revise a methodology or tool, and stakeholders may also submit proposals for methodology or tool revisions. The guidelines for the methodology revision process are outlined in the Methodology Approval Process.

The cost to develop a methodology varies according to the individual circumstances of the methodology. All methodology development fees associated with Verra are outlined in the Program Fee Schedule.

As a standard-setting body, Verra does not track the external cost of methodology development, including research, development, and assessment costs.

Verra provides the rules and requirements for a methodology to be developed in Verra’s standards programs.

Verra does not provide consulting services to methodology developers who are proposing a new methodology or a revision to an existing methodology.

If you would like to work with a consultant to develop a methodology or revision, we encourage you to reach out to other service providers.

Validation and Verification

A validation/verification body (VVB) is an independent, third-party auditor approved by Verra to perform validation or verification services for projects that are registered or intend to register under the VCS Program, CCB Program, SD VISta Program, and the Plastic Waste Reduction Program.

We recommend that you review our “Become a VVB” page for instructions on how to become a Verra-approved VVB.

The location of all Verra-approved validation/verification bodies (VVBs) can be found on Verra’s “Validation and Verification” page. A project developer may select a VVB to validate or verify a project in a different country as long as the VVB is accredited to conduct validation or verification for the project’s specific sectoral scope.

Verra’s programs have different requirements for remote or in-person site visits. You may find the specific rules and requirements for site visits during validation and verification processes outlined in the following project documents: