Verra would like to remind project proponents that the new rules and requirements for the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program related to the updated Non-Permanence Risk Tool (NPRT) for Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU) projects and 40-year longevity period will come into effect as of January 1, 2024. These new requirements were published in the August 29, 2023, VCS Program updates and are summarized in the “August 2023 Overview of VCS Program Updates and Effective Dates” document (PDF). In September, Verra issued additional corrections and clarifications to the VCS Program rules and requirements related to some of these effective dates.
Key Reminders
- As of January 1, 2024, project proponents must use the new version of the AFOLU Non-Permanence Risk Tool and generate Non-Permanence Risk Reports using the new Risk Assessment Calculator. The AFOLU NPRT, v4.2 (PDF) was released along with the VCS Program updates in August 2023, and a digital version of the tool, the AFOLU Non-Permanence Risk Assessment Calculator, recently became available on the Verra Project Hub. For more information about using the digital calculator, see the recent training webinar. Please email hubsupport@verra.org with any further questions.
- Updates to the VCS Standard and the AFOLU Non-Permanence Risk Tool require a 40-year project longevity period and associated monitoring and compensation agreements (see VCS Standard, v4.5 [PDF], Section 3.2.11, and AFOLU NPRT, v4.2 [PDF], Section 2.2.4 [6][d] and Table 4). These requirements are effective for all project proponents who request registration on or after January 1, 2024. For any questions, please email programupdates@verra.org.