WASHINGTON and JAKARTA, Indonesia — Oct. 2, 2025 | Verra and Indonesia have signed an agreement that formalizes their partnership to expand the country’s access to climate finance and strengthen the integrity of its carbon markets.

The Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) between Verra, the world’s leading standards setter for climate action and sustainable development, and Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment/Environmental Protection Agency (MoE/EPA) was signed today and is effective immediately.

The agreement opens Indonesia to enhanced carbon market investment, underpinned by Verra’s high-integrity carbon crediting program.

Existing and new projects registered with Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program can now, in parallel, register in Indonesia’s carbon registry system, known as SRN-PPI. While Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) issued to these projects will continue to be managed in the Verra Registry, key information will be mirrored in SRN-PPI so Indonesia can maintain oversight over its climate mitigation efforts and the accounting related to its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.

Signing the agreement today, Verra’s chief executive officer, Mandy Rambharos, said, “Indonesia, home to some of the world’s most critical tropical forests and biodiversity, is an important country in the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and it is poised to lead Southeast Asia in generating high-integrity carbon credits. We are honored to partner with this Indonesian government, which has taken key steps to build a national carbon market that reflects its commitment to national priorities and advances global sustainable development goals. This agreement marks an important shift toward collaboration and mutual recognition in the interest of global climate action that benefits the planet and people.”

Indonesia’s deputy minister of climate change and carbon governance (MoE/EPA), Ary Sudijanto, said, “This partnership is an important milestone forwards in harmonizing global and national climate efforts. Through this collaboration, we aim to enhance the integrity of our carbon markets, contribute to sustainable development goals, and accelerate our path toward meeting national and international climate targets.”

Key Elements of the MRA

  • Mutual Recognition: The MRA enables project proponents in Indonesia to register with Verra’s VCS Program and request the issuance of VCUs. The MRA covers VCS projects using any methodology approved for use in Verra’s VCS Program.
  • Streamlined Project Registration: Projects can pursue registration with the VCS Program and Indonesia’s national registry system (SRN-PPI) in parallel. However, registration with the SRN-PPI will need to be finalized before the project can complete registration with the VCS Program. Project documents completed as part of the registration process in the VCS Program will serve as the required documentation for approval under the SRN-PPI, creating a seamless dual-track process. VCUs will be issued by the VCS Program in the Verra Registry and carry a label signaling the project was also registered by the Indonesian government.
  • Information Sharing and Registry Interoperability: Verra will share public project and credit information directly with SRN-PPI to enable the government to track project status and progress made in reducing and removing emissions. Both parties will work to establish automated data exchanges between their registries.
  • Support for International Trading: VCUs issued to VCS projects may be authorized for use under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. VCUs to be used in voluntary carbon markets do not need Article 6 authorization but may require approval from Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment. Verra and the Indonesia government will be working to streamline the respective approval processes.

Verra and MoE/EPA will jointly develop a comprehensive Technical Guidance Document that will outline the specific MRA requirements that VCS project proponents and developers must fulfill. This document aims to provide clear guidance to ensure alignment with the applicable regulations. Further details will be released upon its completion, and stakeholders are encouraged to stay informed as the development progresses.

Contact:

Media Inquiries: Erdem Koch | media@verra.org

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Verra is a global leader helping to tackle the world’s most intractable environmental and social challenges. As a mission-driven nonprofit organization, Verra is committed to helping 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 programs and tools that credibly, transparently, and robustly assess environmental and social impacts and enable funding for sustaining and scaling up projects that verifiably deliver these benefits.