Letter from CEO David Antonioli

Dear Friends & Colleagues,

Coming this fall, we plan to release a wide variety of program updates that will build upon much of our ongoing work. Program developments include much-anticipated jurisdictional and nested REDD+ requirements and additional AFOLU initiatives such as streamlined guidance materials to facilitate project registration and VCU issuance under VCS and the Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards.

The updates will also feature the creation of a new AFOLU project category: Wetlands Restoration and Conservation (WRC). Few realize that coastal wetlands cover less than 2 percent of the seas yet transfer some 50 percent of the carbon stored within ocean sediments. Given land use changes worldwide are rapidly degrading and destroying these ecosystems, we at VCS believe carbon finance can serve as a great instrument for incentivizing restoration, rewetting and other conservation activities in wetlands.

More details about new requirements and other VCS developments are below and will be updated in our next newsletter, planned for September.

Sincerely,

David Antonioli

Program Updates

Wetlands Requirements Complete Public Comment Period
On 23 June, the comment period closed on the draft requirements for Wetlands Restoration and Conservation (WRC) activities. We thank the dozens of NGO, government and university experts who have provided input. The requirements are being finalized and will next be presented to the VCS Board for final approval. Learn more about the WRC requirements

Draft Jurisdictional REDD+ (JNR) Requirements End Public Comment Phase
On 2 July, the comment period closed on the draft requirements for Jurisdictional and Nested REDD+ (JNR). We again thank the government officials, NGOs and academic experts who submitted comments, nearly 500 in total. Once finalized, the requirements will be presented to the VCS Board for final approval. Learn more about the JNR Initiative

Coming Soon: Streamlined VCS+CCB Registration and Issuance
Projects pursuing certification under VCS and the Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards may soon follow a streamlined registration and issuance process. Templates for project descriptions, validation reports and other documents will be made available for use under VCS+CCB, simplifying the process for recognition of VCS projects that demonstrate the achievement of sustainable development benefits.

Streamlined processes are also under way for other standards linked to VCS. Stay tuned for more details.

New Methodology Pipeline

Webinar: New Transportation Fuel Switch Methodology
On 11 July, VCS hosted a webinar on VM0019, a new methodology for projects that substitute gasoline with ethanol in commercial fleets of flex-fuel vehicles. Watch the webinar