A key standards organization trying to restore confidence in the voluntary carbon market said Thursday that it has approved several carbon-crediting methodologies to use its high-integrity labels, which could be a major step toward attracting buyers to purchase the credits.
The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market approved three versions of methodologies for projects focused on destroying refrigerant gases and foams that contain chemicals that are much more harmful than carbon dioxide. The other four methodologies approved by the council are for landfill gas projects focused on capturing methane.
While the approvals only account for 27 million carbon credits, or just 1.6 percent of the voluntary carbon market, the announcement is notable because it will allow programs that have also received ICVCM approval to apply the Core Carbon Principles label to their credits.
“The significance is this is the start of the process of rolling out the CCP labels,” Nat Keohane, a member of the ICVCM’s strategic advisory team, said in an interview. “This is just the sort of front edge of the wave of credits that are being assessed.”
