At the start of 2025, Verra would like to share two important reminders with project proponents and validation/verification bodies (VVBs).

A number of project templates are now effective for all project requests submitted on or after January 1, 2025. These templates were introduced in an April 16, 2024, update to the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program, per guidance in the April 2024 Overview of VCS Program Updates and Effective Dates (PDF).

Several templates apply to projects in the VCS Program, and several are for projects jointly using the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards (CCBS) Program and the VCS Program. The templates are available in the Rules and Requirements section on the VCS Program Details page.

The effective date of January 1, 2025, means that all submissions of project documentation for any project request to the Verra Registry must be prepared using the updated versions of the templates.

Verra will not be granting exemptions to anyone using the old templates.

Verra would also like to remind stakeholders that a new Exemption Request Procedure was released on November 27, 2024. The procedure applies to projects in any of Verra’s programs, and it lays out the following criteria for what constitutes an acceptable exemption request:

• Exemption requests related to deadlines to initiate or complete pipeline listing, validation, verification, baseline reassessment, or crediting period renewal
• Exemption requests for projects to change VVBs
• Exemption requests related to VVB site visits at validation and verification

Verra will not grant exemptions for deadlines related to effective dates or grace periods of program updates, corrections and clarifications, or methodologies.

Please contact info@verra.org with any questions about the procedure. All exemption requests must be submitted to registry@verra.org.

Verra is resuming its review of Methodology Idea Notes (MINs) from methodology developers seeking to propose a new methodology or methodology revision in the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program. MINs submitted by January 31, 2025, will be reviewed by March 31, 2025. MINs submitted after the deadline will not be reviewed until after the next MIN submission deadline.

In July 2024, Verra paused the review of new MINs until Q1 2025 to focus organizational resources on work related to advancing key methodologies and reviewing previous submissions.

Verra has also opened a public consultation on proposed updates to its Methodology Development and Review Process. One suggested update is to formally establish a periodic review cycle for MINs instead of a continuous review process, which will allow Verra to effectively advance impactful climate action by delivering on priority methodologies that are under development. This consultation is open through January 31, 2025.

Depending on the feedback received during the public consultation, the next MIN submission deadline will likely be January 31, 2026. Verra would review MINs submitted by January 31, 2026, by March 31, 2026.

Verra has released clarifications that apply to procedural documents of all its programs, with the aim of streamlining the project review process. The Clarifications to Verra Program Rules and Requirements (PDF) document pertains to projects in Verra’s Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards (CCBS) Program; the Jurisdictional and Nested REDD+ (JNR) Framework; the Plastic Waste Reduction Program (Plastic Program); the Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SD VISta) Program; and the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program.

These clarifications reflect the recent streamlining of Verra’s process for reviewing documents submitted with a request to list a project on the Verra project pipeline under one of the following statuses:

• CCBS Program: validation public comment period requested, validation and verification public comment period requested, or verification public comment period requested
• JNR Framework: under development or under validation
• Plastic Program: pipeline listing requested (under validation), pipeline listing requested (under validation and verification), verification public comment requested, or crediting period renewal public comment period requested
• SD VISta Program: validation public comment period requested, validation and verification comment period requested, or verification public comment period requested
• VCS Program: under development or under validation

The updates clarify that Verra reviews these documents prior to validation/verification body review only in cases where it is deemed necessary because a project is high risk, in line with Verra’s recently announced risk-based approach to project reviews.

The Clarifications to Verra Program Rules and Requirements document is available on the respective Rules and Requirements section of each program page. The clarifications will be incorporated into the next issued version of the program documents.

Please contact programupdates@verra.org with any questions.

Verra has released the Procedure to Change Methodology through a Project Description Deviation (PDF). The document provides guidance and requirements for updating projects in the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program to a different methodology or methodology version for current and future monitoring periods, as enabled by section 3.21 of the VCS Standard, v4.7 (PDF).

Project proponents must update to the latest methodology version for current and future monitoring periods at crediting period renewal or baseline reassessment, or as prescribed in the grace period when a methodology is inactivated. However, project proponents may also choose to update to a different methodology or methodology version for current and future monitoring periods before the end of the methodology grace period using this procedure.

As such, this procedure is applicable to project proponents transitioning their projects to VCS Methodology VM0048 Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, v1.0, once activity data is available for their project area.

For a project proponent to change the methodology for a VCS project, they must do the following:

• Use the new methodology to prepare an updated project description that demonstrates how the project meets all requirements and applicability conditions of the new methodology
• Prepare additional project documentation, including a monitoring report and greenhouse gas emission calculation spreadsheets
• Have the documents assessed by a validation/verification body (VVB) at the next verification
• Submit all the documents for Verra review and approval

This new procedure is distinct from the recently released VCS Methodology Change and Requantification Procedure, which provides a pathway for project proponents to update the methodology or methodology version used for previously approved verification periods and reconcile the number of issued Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) based on the requantification under the new methodology.

Verra will host a webinar on Thursday, October 24, 2024, at 10:00 am ET to provide a detailed overview of the VCS Methodology Change and Requantification Procedure and the Procedure to Change Project Methodology through a Project Description Deviation.

For any further questions, please contact programupdates@verra.org.

Verra has permanently inactivated the use of UNFCCC CDM methodology AM0065: Replacement of SF6 with alternate cover gas in the magnesium industry in the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program as of September 17, 2024.

AM0065 applies to project activities that replace the use of cover gas sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) in full or in part by another cover gas. A cover gas is used to prevent rapid oxidation of a weld zone due to atmospheric oxygen.

In its most recent methodology decisions, the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) announced that carbon credits generated by projects using AM0065 would not meet the requirements of the Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) assessment framework. Verra’s inactivation follows a routine review of the methodology, per section 5 of the Methodology Development and Review Process and also considers ICVCM’s decision. Following its review, Verra determined that the methodology’s additionality requirement was out of date. There is also a strong indication that the activities covered by the methodology will become a common practice in the near future.

Projects that are using AM0065 and that are registered in the VCS Program can continue issuing Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) through the end of the current crediting period but cannot renew the crediting period.

Projects that are using AM0065 and are currently under validation or pipeline listed in the Verra Registry must complete validation by March 17, 2025.

There are currently two projects in the Verra Registry that use AM0065.

Verra has rejected 37 projects that use the UNFCCC Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) methodology, AMS-III.AU.: Methane emission reduction by adjusted water management practice in rice cultivation. All rejected projects are based in China.

Verra had paused and then inactivated AMS-III.AU in early 2023 per section 5 of the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Methodology Development and Review Process (PDF). Following the methodology’s inactivation, Verra conducted quality control reviews of all registered projects using AMS-III.AU in accordance with section 6 of the VCS Registration and Issuance Process (PDF).

During the quality control review, Verra identified several issues with the projects related to insufficient demonstration of additionality, projects being designated as small scale, project areas being overstated, and the lack of sufficient evidence to confirm the baseline and project scenario implementation.  These concerns were also supported by an analysis of remote sensing data.

Verra is seeking compensation for excess issuance of Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) from the respective project proponents.

Verra issued non-conformity reports to the four VVBs that had validated the rejected projects: China Classification Society Certification Company, China Quality Certification Center, Shenzhen CTI International Certification Co., Ltd, and TÜV Nord Cert GmbH.

The organizations have 15 days to demonstrate a strong corrective action plan to prevent issues from recurring. Failing to do so, these VVBs face temporary suspension by Verra to conduct audits of other projects under VCS sectoral scope 14: Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU).

The following is a list of projects registered in the VCS Program that are using AMS-III.AU. Those that have issued VCUs are indicated with an asterisk (*).

Verra is currently developing a new rice methodology in the VCS Program that proponents of rice cultivation projects can use. The new methodology will enable project proponents to credibly achieve emission reductions and generate high-quality VCUs. The methodology will incorporate clear and concise guidance as well as efficient processes for the determination of additionality, quantification of emission reductions, and transparent data and measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) procedures. The public consultation for the new methodology closed in July 2024, and Verra expects to release the final methodology later this year.

Verra has launched a public consultation for a minor revision (methodology development ID #M0298) to Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Module VMD0055 Estimation of Emission Reductions from Avoiding Unplanned Deforestation, v1.0. VMD0055 describes the procedures and methods for accounting for the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions from projects that aim to avoid unplanned deforestation. It must be used along with VCS Methodology VM0048 Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, v1.0.

The proposed updates to VMD0055 will help support the methodology’s high integrity, its applicability to a wider range of projects, and its alignment with the Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) established by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM). The updates include the following:

• Adding forest management activities (e.g., harvesting trees to generate income, fiber, or fuel) in the project scenario
• Ensuring the full alignment of VMD0055 with VT0007 Unplanned Deforestation Allocation (UDef-A), v1.0, and its process for data allocation to projects
• Clarifying the distinction between mandatory and optional carbon sources and pools
• Clarifying spatial resolution and mapping requirements, mapping terminology, and the scope of the jurisdictional sampling frame
• Clarifying the duration for which a project can use allocated activity data

To provide feedback on the proposed revisions, please complete the M0298 VMD0055 Comment Template (xlsx) and send it to methodologies@verra.org by September 9, 2024.

Verra hosted a webinar on Friday, August 23, at 11:00 am ET, to provide an overview of the methodology and the proposed changes.

Verra, in partnership with an Amazon-led working group, has launched the ABACUS label, a new market label that can be applied to Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) from projects verified to the new Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation (ARR) methodology (VM0047) in Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program. The label is now available on the Verra Registry.

Development of the label was supported by a working group that included representatives from Amazon, Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, Environmental Defense Fund, Pachama, Terra Carbon, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, SCS Global Services, and University of California, Berkeley.

The ABACUS label identifies carbon credits generated under Verra’s high-integrity ARR methodology that exceed the methodology’s requirements, enabling Verra and stakeholders to test new concepts that further advance credit integrity and quality.
The availability of the ABACUS label will help catalyze the market for such high-integrity greenhouse gas removal credits that qualify for it.

Projects wishing to apply the ABACUS label to their VCUs must go beyond the requirements of Verra’s ARR methodology in the following aspects:

• Dynamic additionality: Building on VM0047, projects must rigorously match and observe control areas to measure project additionality in real time.
• Transparency: Projects must publish all inventory measurements, justify modeling approaches, and report on disturbance monitoring annually in the project area.
• Permanence: Projects must restore to diverse, ecologically appropriate ecosystems, while regularly updating their carbon stock stabilization strategy throughout and after the crediting period.
• Avoided displacement of food production: Projects must effectively maintain or enhance agricultural production in the project area and surrounding landscape

The launch of this label follows a public consultation that ran from November 15, 2023, through January 8, 2024. Verra received 130 comments from 11 stakeholders during the consultation; this feedback is summarized in the ABACUS Label Public Consultation Response document.

As with all its methodologies and standards programs, Verra will continuously update the ABACUS label to ensure that it reflects the best and most recent science and technology. For example, Verra expects to revise the label when revised versions of VM0047 and the associated VMD0054 Module for Estimating Leakage from ARR Activities are published.

Verra has released a guidance document titled ABACUS Label Guidance, v1.0, which contains the eligibility criteria, requirements, and procedure for project proponents wishing to apply the ABACUS label to their VCUs.

Please contact programupdates@verra.org with any questions about the ABACUS label.

Verra has published a Request for Proposals (RFP) (PDF) for validation/verification bodies (VVBs) to review the draft of the Methodology for Accelerated Coal-Fired Power Plant Retirement Using a Just Transition (methodology development ID #M0233) in the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program.

The methodology quantifies the emissions avoided by retiring power plants before the end of their expected operational period. It also requires the pairing of new renewable energy-generating capacity with the retired coal capacity to prevent leakage. Any residual leakage is accounted for by applying conservative discounts for all emissions from grid electricity needed to replace the retired plant.

The methodology can have a high impact on the energy sector by enabling owners or operators of coal-fired power plants to access finance that can support an early retirement of the plant without impacting ratepayers or preventing the plant operators or owners from meeting other fiduciary obligations. The methodology also includes comprehensive requirements to ensure a just transition for local communities and vulnerable groups who will be affected by the retirement of such plants.

The VVB assessment will align with procedures set out in section 6 of the Methodology Development and Review Process, v4.4 (PDF), but will focus exclusively on the following:

• Structure, clarity, and consistency of the methodology
• Greenhouse gas quantification
• Baseline date assessment
• Additionality assessment
• Verifiability

This alternative approach is allowed for per section 2.1.2 of the Methodology Development and Review Process, v4.4.

The draft methodology was open for public consultation between December 4, 2023, and January 16, 2024. It has been developed under the Coal to Clean Credit Initiative (CCCI), led by the Rockefeller Foundation (external).

Verra is inactivating Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Methodology VM0022 Quantifying N₂O Emissions Reductions in Agricultural Crops through Nitrogen Fertilizer Rate Reduction, v1.1 as of July 1, 2024. This methodology quantified reductions of N₂O emissions from cropping systems.

VM0022 has been inactivated for the following reasons:

• Since the methodology was published in 2013, no project registered in the VCS Program has used it. Per section 5.1.4 of the Methodology Development and Review Process, v4.4 (PDF), Verra may make a VCS methodology inactive where no projects using the methodology have been registered within five years of the last update or review.
• It uses an outdated approach for quantifying N₂O emission reductions.
• The methodology’s greenhouse gas (GHG) quantification approaches do not provide a full accounting of potential GHG emissions, including changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks.

Due to this inactivation, Verra will no longer continue with the major revision to VM0022 (methodology development ID #M0163). Instead, Verra is scoping updated nitrogen management and N₂O reduction approaches and guidance as part of a major revision to VM0042 Methodology for Improved Agricultural Land Management, v2.0, which would result in version 3.0 of the methodology (methodology development ID #M0264).

Verra invites interested stakeholders to complete a pre-consultation survey (external) on the revision toward VM0042, v3.0. The survey includes questions on respondents’ interest in expanding activities for nitrogen management and on the latest approaches to N₂O emission measurement and quantification.