Endorsement of Voluntary Carbon Market Standards
New Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) Standards under the ICROA Code may be proposed at any time by any ICROA member. New Standards are accepted into the Code if they meet ICROA's Review Criteria, and the ICROA Executive Committee votes to accept the new Standard.
-
ICROA developed the Review Criteria using the principles laid out in the ICROA Code of Best Practice.
-
The key principles in the ICROA Code of Best Practice are that carbon credits validated and verified by permitted Standards must be: Real, Measurable, Permanent, Independently Verified, Additional and Unique.
-
The Review Criteria are divided into essential and discretionary criteria. A Standard must meet the essential criteria to be included in the ICROA Code of Best Practice and should meet the discretionary Criteria.
ENDORSED UN AND GOVERNMENT STANDARDS
*Further clarity is expected following the approval of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement at COP26
ENDORSED INDEPENDENT STANDARDS*
.png)
.png)
CONDITIONALLY ENDORSED INDEPENDENT STANDARDS**
.png)
*Assessed by ICROA on the basis of the Review Criteria. Both Endorsed Standards and Conditionally Endorsed Standards are required to proactively inform ICROA of any updates or changes on an annual basis before Q3 of each year, along with the supporting documentation for an official technical review. Failure to do so may result in exclusion from the Code. For more information, please contact the ICROA Secretariat.
**Conditional Endorsement is attributed to Standards that meet ICROA criteria for endorsement, and are pending the achievement of set threshold values in order to validate the full operationalisation of the Programme (e.g. registered projects, issued credits, etc). ICROA Accredited Organisations can use carbon credits from conditionally endorsed standards and will be Code compliant. For more details, please contact the ICROA Secretariat.
Approved Emissions Factors:
New Zealand: Ministry for the Environment – National Emissions Factors
Australia: Department of the Environment and Energy - National Greenhouse Accounts Factors
Germany: BMU (Federal Ministry for the Environment)
Netherlands: Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment - National Emission Factors
UK: Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) - Current GHG conversion factors
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): Emission Factors Database