Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) are eligible credits for compliance with obligations under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) (external).
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) implemented CORSIA to keep global net CO2 emissions from international aviation at 2019 levels (so-called “carbon neutral growth from 2020”). This is achieved by offsetting any emissions above 2020 levels that remain after the use of sustainable aviation fuels and implementation of technical and operational improvements in the sector. The CORSIA program has established rules for determining the sector’s requirements for offsetting and allocating the offsetting obligation to airlines.
Obligations under the CORSIA program are effective for 2021 to 2035. Over 100 countries are participating in the current, voluntary pilot phase and this participation is expected to grow until 2027 when participation becomes mandatory for most countries in the ICAO framework.
The VCS Program is eligible for CORSIA’s pilot phase (2021-2023) and first phase (2024-2026), as stated in ICAO’s Eligible Emissions Unit (PDF) document. In principle all VCUs fall within the scope of eligibility under CORSIA, except for the exclusions detailed below. VCUs issued from 2021 onward will require an Article 6 Authorized – International Mitigation Purposes label to be eligible for use towards CORSIA.
Project proponents may request that a CORSIA label be applied to eligible VCUs as part of the issuance process or by specific request thereafter. CORSIA labels will be displayed on the Verra Registry to indicate which VCUs may be retired for CORSIA purposes. CORSIA-labeled VCUs are searchable in the Verra Registry under the “Additional Certifications” field. A CORSIA Label Guidance (PDF) document is available with detailed information on VCU eligibility for CORSIA and the process for requesting CORSIA labels.
In March 2025, Verra submitted an application for reassessment by the ICAO Technical Advisory Board to be considered for eligibility to supply VCUs for the CORSIA second phase (2027-2029). The ICAO Council has stated that they will provide recommendations on programs’ eligibility by the end of 2025.
Resources
Eligible VCUs under CORSIA
VCUs that meet each of the following conditions are eligible for use in the CORSIA pilot phase (2021-2023):
- Crediting period eligibility: The project’s first crediting period started on or after January 1, 2016.
- Vintage eligibility: The emission reductions or removals occurred between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2023.
- Project/program type eligibility: Issuance is for one of the following cases:
- For a non-AFOLU project
- For an AFOLU project developed outside of a REDD+ country
- For an AFOLU project that is located in a REDD+ country and that applies one of the following methodologies:
- VM0012 Improved Forest Management in Temperate and Boreal Forests
- VM0017 Adoption of Sustainable Agricultural Land Management
- VM0021 Soil Carbon Quantification Methodology
- VM0022 Quantifying N2O Emissions Reductions in Agricultural Crops through Nitrogen Fertilizer Rate Reduction
- VM0024 Methodology for Coastal Wetland Creation
- VM0026 Methodology for Sustainable Grassland Management (and VMD0040 Leakage from Displacement of Grazing Activities)
- VM0032 Methodology for the Adoption of Sustainable Grasslands through Adjustment of Fire and Grazing
- VM0033 Methodology for Tidal Wetland and Seagrass Restoration
- VM0036 Methodology for Rewetting Drained Temperate Peatlands
- VM0041 Methodology for the Reduction of Enteric Methane Emissions from Ruminants through the Use of Feed Ingredients
- VM0042 Methodology for Improved Agricultural Land Management
- For an AFOLU project under a jurisdictional program following Crediting Scenario 3 of the VCS Jurisdictional and Nested REDD+ (JNR) framework
- For an AFOLU project under a jurisdictional program following Crediting Scenario 2a of the VCS JNR framework
- For an AFOLU project in a REDD+ country that is small in scale (i.e., was estimated at the time of project registration to generate less than 7,000 VCUs per year)
- Sustainable development contributions reporting: The VCUs were issued to projects that have reported on their sustainable development contributions through one of the following:
- Applying the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards (CCBS)
- Applying the Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SD VISta)
- For projects using VCS monitoring report templates v4.0 or earlier: Completing the latest template for the Sustainable Development Contributions Report
- For projects using VCS monitoring report templates v4.1 and later: Utilizing the latest templates for the VCS Monitoring Report or Joint Project Description and Monitoring Report
VCUs that meet each of the following conditions are eligible for use in the CORSIA first phase (2024-2026):
- Crediting period eligibility: The project’s first crediting period started on or after January 1, 2016.
- Vintage eligibility: The emission reductions or removals occurred between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2026.
- Project/program type eligibility: Issuance is for one of the following cases:
- For a non-AFOLU project, with the following exclusions:
- Projects applying AMS-II.G Energy efficiency measures in thermal applications of non-renewable biomass (external) or VMR0006 Energy Efficiency and Fuel Switch Measures in Thermal Applications (external), or
- Project activities involving grid-connected renewable electricity generation with maximum output capacity greater than 15 MW of electricity, or
- Projects falling under sectoral scope 16
- For an AFOLU project developed outside of a REDD+ country
- For an AFOLU project in a REDD+ country applying one of the following methodologies:
- VM0012 Improved Forest Management in Temperate and Boreal Forests
- VM0017 Adoption of Sustainable Agricultural Land Management
- VM0021 Soil Carbon Quantification Methodology
- VM0022 Quantifying N2O Emissions Reductions in Agricultural Crops through Nitrogen Fertilizer Rate Reduction
- VM0024 Methodology for Coastal Wetland Creation
- VM0026 Methodology for Sustainable Grassland Management (and VMD0040 Leakage from Displacement of Grazing Activities)
- VM0032 Methodology for the Adoption of Sustainable Grasslands through Adjustment of Fire and Grazing
- VM0033 Methodology for Tidal Wetland and Seagrass Restoration
- VM0036 Methodology for Rewetting Drained Temperate Peatlands
- VM0041 Methodology for the Reduction of Enteric Methane Emissions from Ruminants through the Use of Feed Ingredients
- VM0042 Methodology for Improved Agricultural Land Management
- For an AFOLU project under a jurisdictional program following Crediting Scenario 3 of the VCS JNR framework
- For an AFOLU project under a jurisdictional program following Crediting Scenario 2a of the VCS JNR framework
- For an AFOLU project in a REDD+ country that is small in scale (i.e., was estimated at the time of project registration to generate less than 7,000 VCUs per year)
- For a non-AFOLU project, with the following exclusions:
- Sustainable development contributions reporting: The VCUs were issued to projects that have reported on their sustainable development contributions through one of the following:
- Applying the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards (CCBS)
- Applying the Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SD VISta)
- For projects using VCS monitoring report templates v4.0 or earlier: Completing the latest template for the Sustainable Development Contributions Report
- For projects using VCS monitoring report templates v4.1 and later: Utilizing the latest templates for the VCS Monitoring Report or Joint Project Description and Monitoring Report
- Regulatory Surplus: VCUs were issued for a project activity that is not mandated by law, statute, or another regulatory framework, regardless of whether it is systematically enforced.
To be eligible for CORSIA use, VCUs with vintages of 2021 onward will need a CORSIA label and an Article 6 Authorized – International Mitigation Purposes label. Information on Article 6 labels for VCUs is available in Article 6 Label Guidance (PDF). A new version of the Article 6 Guidance incorporating the outcomes from COP29 will be released in Q1 2025.
For the mitigation outcomes represented by VCUs with vintages of 2021 onward, Verra requires additional assurances that there is no double claiming. Verra will release requirements for this assurance in Q1 2025.