Draft Core Carbon Principles and Assessment Framework on Wrong Track
Washington DC, 21 September | Verra today released a statement expressing its view that the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) should drastically revise its process for developing the Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) and Assessment Framework (AF) for the voluntary carbon market.
Verra has supported the ICVCM and the development of both the CCPs and AF. However, Verra is becoming concerned that a principles-based review of programs is being supplanted with a blunt, one-size-fits-all approach that sets impossible requirements, is impervious to input from a range of stakeholders, and is administratively unworkable. This will result in a drastic reduction in carbon finance flowing to activities on the ground.
Verra proposes an alternative path forward that focuses on standards and processes at the program level, stages the development of the AF, leverages and supplements existing assessment initiatives, and establishes a longer-term CCP work program.
If done well, the CCPs and AF can drive high integrity across the full range of carbon crediting programs in the voluntary carbon market and help realize the rapid scaling of climate action that the world needs. As it stands, they do neither.
For more information, contact:
Anne Thiel, Director, Communications, athiel@verra.org
Steve Zwick, Senior Manager, Special Projects, szwick@verra.org
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Verra is a nonprofit organization that runs the world’s leading carbon crediting program, the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program. Verra is committed to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve livelihoods, and protect natural resources by working with the private and public sectors. We support climate action and sustainable development with standards, tools, and programs that credibly, transparently, and robustly assess environmental and social impacts and enable funding for sustaining and scaling up projects that verifiably deliver these benefits.