With the approval of BioCarbon Standard, Cercarbono and Plan Vivo (PV Climate), CCP-Eligible programs are now estimated to account for more than 95% of cumulative voluntary carbon market issuances.
The approval of BioCarbon Standard and Cercarbono highlights the growing contribution of Global South-led initiatives to the evolution of high-integrity voluntary carbon markets.
Annette Nazareth, Chair of the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market, said:
“We welcome the significant work undertaken by programs and methodology developers to strengthen their standards and requirements through the assessment process. The approval of BioCarbon Standard, Cercarbono and Plan Vivo marks another important milestone in the implementation of the Core Carbon Principles and demonstrates the continued progress being made towards a voluntary carbon market built on robust standards, transparency and independent assessment.”
BioCarbon Standard
The Integrity Council’s assessment found that BioCarbon Standard meets the relevant criteria for CCP-Eligibility for mitigation activities registered under BioCarbon Standard Rules v4.1 or later.
During the assessment process, BioCarbon Cert introduced a range of updates to the BioCarbon Standard’s rules, procedures and templates to strengthen governance, transparency and safeguards. These included enhanced conflict-of-interest requirements and oversight of the independent registry provider; accessible consultation channels and safeguard requirements for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities; strengthened methodology development, review and approval processes and independent third-party validation and verification requirements; and enhanced permanence and reversal-risk management.
The BioCarbon Standard (BCS), managed by BioCarbon Cert, is a carbon-crediting program for ex-post verified mitigation activities across the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU), energy, transportation and waste sectors. The program has 54 registered projects and has issued more than 85 million credits to date, representing roughly 3.5% of voluntary carbon market issuances. Its project portfolio is concentrated in AFOLU activities, with additional activities in the energy, transportation and waste sectors.
To date, BioCarbon Cert has developed 17 AFOLU methodologies under the BioCarbon Standard. They cover key climate solutions including ARR, REDD+, IFM, SOC, sustainable biochar, blue carbon, regenerative agriculture and improved livestock and grazing management. These methodologies have not yet been assessed by the ICVCM.
Ángela Duque Villegas, CEO of BioCarbon Cert, said:
“CCP-Eligible status is a huge milestone for the BioCarbon Standard and reflects the strength of the framework we have built. Through the Standard, we support mitigation activities across AFOLU, energy, transportation and waste. Our ambition goes beyond quantifying carbon: we aim to enable climate finance to deliver durable mitigation, strengthen ecosystem resilience and advance sustainable development for communities. We look forward to submitting our methodologies for assessment under the ICVCM’s two-tick process.”
Cercarbono
The Integrity Council’s assessment found that Cercarbono meets the relevant criteria for CCP-Eligibility where projects are registered under its Protocol for Voluntary Carbon Certification v4.5.2 or later.
The assessment included consideration of stakeholder submissions relating to governance, Indigenous Peoples’ rights, double counting, host country authorisation and corresponding adjustments under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
During the assessment process, Cercarbono introduced a range of updates to address issues identified through the assessment and strengthen its governance, transparency and safeguards. These included enhanced public disclosure of project information, stronger benefit-sharing and Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) requirements, improved grievance and stakeholder engagement processes, and measures to strengthen independence, conflict-of-interest management and oversight arrangements. The program also enhanced its approach to additionality, double counting and permanence risk management.
Cercarbono is a Colombia-based carbon-crediting program with over 200 registered projects across more than 25 countries and around 130 million credits issued to date, representing approximately 7% of the global voluntary carbon market. Its diverse project portfolio covers sectors including land use, energy industries, waste management and industrial biodigesters, with most activities located in Latin America.
Alex Saer, CEO of Cercarbono, said:
“CCP-Eligibility reflects years of work to strengthen our governance, transparency and verification systems in line with the ICVCM’s Core Carbon Principles, but it is what it unlocks that matters most. It is a lever for more nature-based and technology-based projects to access stronger carbon finance, and for the communities and ecosystems behind them to benefit directly. We will continue working with the ICVCM to widen high-integrity routes to market for projects around the world.”
Plan Vivo (PV Climate)
The Integrity Council’s assessment found that Plan Vivo (PV Climate) meets the relevant criteria for CCP-Eligibility where applicable conditions are met, including use of Project Requirements v5.7 or later and the use of validation and verification bodies rather than independent experts.
During the assessment process, Plan Vivo introduced a range of updates to align with the Core Carbon Principles. These included updates relating to governance, transparency and operational controls, such as enhanced conflict-of-interest and due diligence procedures, clearer documentation of the registry and retirement processes, updates to safeguards and grievance mechanisms, and changes to validation and verification arrangements to align with the Integrity Council’s requirements.
Plan Vivo Foundation is a UK-based (Edinburgh) carbon-crediting program, that was established over 25 years ago and is focused on community-led, nature-based climate projects. The program operates two standards: PV Climate (carbon) and PV Nature (biodiversity). Its portfolio is primarily composed of land-use activities, including agroforestry, reforestation, ARR and REDD+-type projects. The program has 32 registered projects and approximately 30 pipeline projects and has issued 15.9 million carbon credits to date, with activities concentrated across Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia-Pacific.
Keith Bohannon, Chief Executive of Plan Vivo Foundation, said:
“The ICVCM accreditation is an important recognition of the rigour behind Plan Vivo’s crediting programme and the work undertaken to ensure our systems meet the expectations of a changing market, while remaining accessible to community-led projects.
It also demonstrates that strong technical requirements can sit alongside meaningful participation, safeguards and benefit/revenue-sharing for the communities and smallholder farmers involved in these impactful projects.”