Climate standards organization Gold Standard has issued a fresh guidance document that provides details about the use of its VERs (Verified Emission Reductions) in order to help carbon project developers with labeling and selling eligible credits under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) scheme.
The publishing of the guide follows the approval of the organization as an eligible program for Phase One of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) CORSIA scheme in late October this year. Developers will now be able to benefit from the substantial demand from airline companies which are expected to be among the most prominent buyers in the coming years and even decades.
Commenting on the new guidance, CEO Margaret Kim said: “With the publication of ICAO’s decision, Gold Standard projects can now begin to supply eligible emissions units for use by airlines under Phase 1 of CORSIA. Following last week’s outcomes at COP29, this announcement fires the starting gun for new uses of the Article 6 framework, built on firm foundations.
“The bar has been set high for credits to be recognised as eligible, and we expect – and regret – that access to this market is likely to be limited to only a portion of projects. Building on the guidance published by Gold Standard today, we will explore additional steps to enable greater access for projects within the guardrails established by ICAO, while continuing our support for projects delivering vital climate and sustainable development benefits outside of the Article 6 and CORSIA frameworks.”
The document itself contains details about eligiblity and the exact process that project developers need to follow in order to classify their VERs. The Gold Standard Impact Registry now has labels and filters for Gold Standard VERs eligible for ‘CORSIA Phase 1’, and the Impact Registry Labelling Guidance document has been updated to reflect this new feature.
One important difference between the pilot phase (which ran between 2021-24) and Phase 1 (2024-2026), credits will have to be authorised under Article 6 by the country where the project is being developed. Project developers must choose one of two options to address the risk of double-claiming with a host country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
Insurance questions
Gold Standard also revealed that at this point only projects with insurance provided by the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) will be eligible.
This caused a stir in carbon market circles but the organization clarified that other insurance providers will be reviewed in due course but couldn’t commit to a deadline for when they might potentially be approved.
A spokesperson provided context by saying: “The coverage and service provided by MIGA is somewhat distinct from that provided by other insurance providers, considering MIGA’s status as a member of the World Bank Group and its dispute resolution function. For this reason, MIGA was considered separately to other insurance products.
As stated in our guidance document published on Monday, Gold Standard is developing and intends to establish a process to recognise insurance policies from third-party private insurance companies, to support guarantees for the avoidance of double-claiming under CORSIA.
While we cannot confirm a timeline for the process to recognise additional insurance policies, work is already underway. This will be informed by recommendations given to Gold Standard as part of a recent consultancy, the details of which are available here.”
Read more: ICAO Approves Four Programs For CORSIA Eligibility
