The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) has approved three additional carbon crediting programs under its Core Carbon Principles framework, bringing the share of cumulative voluntary carbon market issuances covered by CCP-Eligible programs to an estimated 95%.
The three programs—BioCarbon Standard, Cercarbono, and Plan Vivo (PV Climate)—received approval on August 4, bringing the total number of ICVCM-approved programs to 13 since the body began issuing decisions in March 2024.
The approvals carry conditions: BioCarbon Standard’s eligibility applies to projects registered under its Rules v4.1 or later; Cercarbono’s under its Protocol for Voluntary Carbon Certification v4.5.2 or later; and Plan Vivo’s under Project Requirements v5.7 or later, provided projects use accredited validation and verification bodies.
Global South Representation
The approval of BioCarbon Standard and Cercarbono is particularly significant for the geographic diversity of the high-integrity market, since both are Global South-led initiatives.
BioCarbon Standard is managed by BioCarbon Cert, registered in Colombia, and covers 54 projects across agriculture, forestry, energy, transportation, and waste, having issued more than 85 million credits to date.
Cercarbono is Colombia-based, with more than 200 registered projects across 25 countries, approximately 130 million credits issued, and a portfolio concentrated in Latin America.
Edinburgh-based Plan Vivo Foundation, which focuses on community-led, nature-based projects across Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia-Pacific, has issued 15.9 million credits across 32 registered projects.
Relevant: Global Carbon Council Earns Highest Integrity Status As ICVCM Announces May Decisions
All three programs introduced governance, transparency, and safeguard improvements during the assessment process, including stronger conflict-of-interest controls, updated community consultation and Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) requirements, and enhanced permanence and reversal-risk management.
The approval demonstrates “continued progress being made towards a voluntary carbon market built on robust standards, transparency and independent assessment,” said Annette Nazareth, chair of the ICVCM.
Since its first program decisions, ICVCM has also assessed 66 methodologies, approving 41 and rejecting 25. An estimated 115 million credits have been approved to carry the CCP label.
Read more: Rainbow Carbon Standard Gains CCP-Eligible Status from ICVCM
