Verra Stakeholder Update Webinar – July 2025: Recap

Thank you to those who joined us for the July Stakeholder Update Webinar, in which we shared a number of key updates. Below please find a summary of the session, as well as a recording of the webinar and the slide deck.

Verra CEO Mandy Rambharos opened the webinar by welcoming Statton Hammock, who joined Verra on July 1 as its new general counsel. Statton comes to us from Catona Climate, a carbon project finance company, and brings with him extensive knowledge and experience with carbon markets, carbon credit transactions, and project investment in nature-based carbon sequestration projects.

Mandy then shared some reflections from her most recent thought piece, which she published in celebration of her one-year anniversary as CEO of Verra.

She emphasized that over the past 12 months, we’ve been focused on driving a fundamental transformation at Verra, focused on integrity, innovation, and impact. This work has resulted in the launch of revolutionary new methodologies, the acceleration of our digital transformation, a dramatic improvement in our project review times, the establishment of a responsive and transparent global stakeholder engagement process and system, extensive collaboration with governments to support their use of and participation in carbon markets, and swift and decisive action taken against those who undermine market integrity.

Mandy stated that in 2024, Verra posted a financial loss of $19.37 million, following a strategic decision by Verra’s leadership in the previous year to treat 2024 as a year of investment. When it became clear that the market would take longer than expected to recover, Verra had to change course. We made the difficult decision last fall to reduce staff and refocus our resources. We cut expenses and reduced our budget—without ever compromising on the quality of our work. These decisions are paying off. While we can’t yet share financial figures for 2025, early indicators show that we are on a sustainable financial path, with strong cash reserves to support our mission.

As a nonprofit, we also continue to fundraise, as we have in the past, to find purpose-aligned support to strengthen our systems, invest in innovation, and advance the long-term health of the carbon markets.

Regarding the future of the markets and what it will take to scale them, Mandy noted the following four main areas of focus:

• Making the market easier to navigate for buyers, with clearer, more consistent guidance on how to invest in high-integrity credits
• The need for stakeholders who help shape these markets to serve as a proactive partner to governments, ensuring that regulations reflect the realities on the ground without creating duplication or friction
• Working with allies to strengthen the policy signals that drive corporate and investor action, ensuring that voluntary and compliance systems move in the same direction, toward greater climate ambition
• Telling a clearer story about the carbon markets to explain how they work and why they matter

In the context of the last point, Mandy emphasized the need to give a voice to those whose lives have been changed by the carbon markets. Only then will we be able to tell the full story of these markets. This truth is eloquently captured a favorite quote of Mandy’s: “Until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter.”

In closing, Mandy underscored that Verra cannot do this work alone and that it will take all of us to build a carbon market that’s both bigger and better.

Sinclair Vincent, senior director, program development, provided an update on the development of version 5 of the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program. The three core objectives of version 5 of the VCS Program are as follows:

• Increasing program integrity (e.g., through alternative permanence approaches and a risk-based approach to designing and implementing safeguards)
• Improving accessibility and usability (e.g., through standardizing effective dates for new program updates and methodology revisions and simplifying existing rules)
• Maximizing impact (e.g., through changes to the activities that are eligible for crediting under the VCS Program, particularly renewable energy activities)

Verra is currently running a final public consultation on the updates that will result in version 5 of the VCS Program, following two earlier consultations in early 2023 and in the fall of 2024. The final consultation ends on August 11. Some components, such as the new Methodology Development and Review Process, are already available to enable quicker implementation of key version 5 elements that have been finalized.

All resources (webinar recording, feedback form, etc.) related to this final public consultation are available on our website.

Sinclair elaborated further on some changes to Table 1 in the VCS Standard and a related methodology consultation. Under the proposed update, Table 1 would serve as listing the default eligibility that applies if a methodology does not have any geographic constraints. In a related consultation on ACM0002: Grid-connected electricity generation from renewable sources, we propose making grid-connected renewable energy activities eligible in a broader set of economies. This is in response to the lackluster growth of renewable energy in many economies that we’ve seen in recent years.

The proposed updates also build on a recommendation from the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market, which encouraged greenhouse gas crediting programs like Verra to find a way to incentivize the growth of renewable energy sources because the sector is key to meeting climate targets.

Sinclair also provided an update on the allocated deforestation risk maps that must be used under the VCS methodology VM0048 Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, and the associated module VMD0055 Estimation of Emission Reductions from Avoiding Unplanned Deforestation.

In April, we modified the way we share key updates related to deforestation risk maps to provide more detailed information about the use of provisional maps and the final allocated deforestation risk maps and VMD0055-compliant project baseline activity data.

Provisional allocated deforestation risk maps: Verra publishes provisional allocated deforestation risk maps (i.e., lower-resolution risk maps) while the final review of the VMD0055-compliant data is still ongoing. The provisional data are open access and can be used to support project due diligence and evaluate the feasibility of registering a project using VM0048 and VMD0055. We encourage stakeholders to submit feedback on provisional data within three weeks of its release using our feedback form (external). This feedback will be reviewed and, where appropriate, incorporated prior to the release of VMD0055-compliant data.

VMD0055-compliant data: VMD0055-compliant data will be finalized approximately two to three months after the release of the provisional open-access data, following a thorough third-party review. If any issues are detected in the third-party review and/or from stakeholder feedback, those issues will be listed on our website. Information about the development status of VMD00555-compliant data can be accessed through a link on the Allocated Deforestation Risk Maps: Timetable webpage.

When the VMD0055-compliant data have been finalized, they will be available in the Verra Project Hub upon payment of the PADA (Project Activity Data Allocation) fee. At that point, the lower resolution data will also be updated and remain open access and available for due diligence purposes.

Revision of Allocated Deforestation Risk Maps: We are in the process of developing a formal framework to govern when and how final data are revised and improved. It will include versioning rules, a structured changelog, thresholds for when updates require new releases, and a process for incorporating user feedback and technical advances.

Status of Allocated Deforestation Risk Maps: Key updates on the availability of allocated deforestation risk maps include the following:

• VMD0055-compliant data for the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Pará became available in late June.
• Provisional allocated deforestation risk maps for Peru were also released in late June.
• Provisional allocated deforestation risk maps for the Brazilian states of Acre and Amapá are on track for release at the end of July.

Andrew Howard, chief strategy and policy officer, provided an update on the operationalization of CORSIA labels, which indicate that a Verified Carbon Unit (VCU) is eligible to be used under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation.

The CORSIA pilot (2021–2023) and first (2024–2026) phases operate in parallel to the Paris Agreement. To ensure there is no double claiming of credits toward countries’ climate goals under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and airline operators’ CORSIA obligations, countries hosting crediting projects must give their authorization under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. This commits the host country to not count the emission reductions or removals from the project toward its own emission targets as set out in its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). This exclusion of the respective emission reduction happens through the application of a corresponding adjustment when a country reports on its NDCs.

CORSIA requires Verra to ensure there is compensation if a host country doesn’t apply such a corresponding adjustment. Therefore, before a VCU can receive a CORSIA eligible label, Verra requires that we receive a Deed of Accounting Representation where the signatory takes responsibility for procuring and canceling credits for any necessary compensation. We also require the signatory to take out insurance that enables them to fulfil the deed.

This applies to VCUs that can be used under the pilot and first phases of CORSIA and that have a vintage of 2021 or later.

We recently announced the criteria we need to see in insurance policies to accept them as sufficient to back VCUs with a vintage of 2021 or later intended for use under CORSIA. Verra is currently in the process of contracting an external firm to assess applicant insurance policies on our behalf against our insurance criteria. We expect to make an announcement about the selected firm soon. We also expect Verra’s Deed of Accounting Representation to be published in late Q3, followed by an initial list of approved insurance policies.

Justin Wheler, chief program management officer, shared a few recent project review examples that illustrated the progress Verra has made in improving our review process and tools.

Example #1: The registration review request of the Tond Tenga project in Burkina Faso was completed in 51 business days. This is the first project to register under our ICVCM-approved afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation methodology, VM0047, and had two rounds of review by the validation/verification body (VVB) and Verra.

Example #2: The verification review of Fuel Efficient Cooking in South Africa project was approved after only 25 days. This was the project’s sixth verification review request with multiple rounds of review.

Example #3: The verification review of the Makame Savannah REDD project in Tanzania under both the VCS and CCBS Programs was completed in 50 business days.

Example #4: The verification request of Project Reignite took one month for the first review and one week for the second review. This is the first project registered under our biochar methodology, VM0044. The project used the digital submission and review process in the Verra Project Hub, which streamlined their submission immensely by providing them with a straightforward form for information management. The project commented that using the Verra Project Hub “broke the barrier to entry into the carbon market.”

Joe Dell’Orfano, chief technology officer, provided an update on Verra’s multiyear digitalization initiative.

Click graphic to view larger version.

The Verra Project Hub offers an expanding suite of digital tools and capabilities designed to make engaging with Verra more seamless and efficient. Please check out the project hub’s new dashboard, which allows for more intuitive navigation.

• Digital Project Submission Tool: This tool now supports 21 digitalized methodologies (from the VCS, the Plastic Waste Reduction Standard, and the Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard Programs, as well as the Clean Development Mechanism), with three more coming soon.

The project submission tool enables the entry of several reports and templates, as well as data, which can be entered manually or provided via API. A calculation engine quantifies expected greenhouse gas emission reductions and carbon removals with precision and consistency, greatly reducing delays. Additionally, public consultations are now integrated into the platform in a fully digital format, further supporting transparency and accessibility.

• Digital Project Review: We are piloting a new digital project review process to automate and streamline administrative steps, enhancing processing efficiency and strengthening the collaboration among Verra staff, project proponents, and VVBs. The result will be a digitalized project review report that automates review rounds, provides real-time status updates, and stores data for future analysis. VVB training for this new tool is planned for August, with a broader rollout to follow in the coming months.

• Project Tracker: This tool provides the ability to track the progress of project-related requests in real time.

• Digital Tools and Forms: A suite of digital tools and forms have been added to streamline various workflows, most recently the Exemption Request Form and digitalized VCS representations. VMD0055-compliant data can also be requested through the Verra Project Hub.

• Data and Insights: We are currently working on a number of innovative developments focused on data and insights, including a number of dMRV pilot projects, a subscription-based data API that provides access to publicly available project and account data, a Project Location Review Tool, and a Long-Term Monitoring System that leverages geospatial data to track nature-based projects for potential loss events.

Verra’s work to accelerate the digital transformation of the carbon markets has gained significant momentum thanks to a five-year capital investment from Hedera, which will enable us to digitalize 20 additional Verra methodologies over the next year.

The Hedera Guardian integrates directly with the Verra Project Hub, streamlining and expediting project workflows. This integration lays the foundation for a more scalable and high-integrity carbon market built on trust and transparency.