Verra, a leading standards setter for the voluntary carbon market, has suspended four validation/verification bodies (VVBs) involved in reviewing 37 rice cultivation projects in China, which were rejected last year due to serious compliance issues.
The suspended VVBs—China Classification Society Certification Company (CCSC), China Quality Certification Center (CQC), CTI Certification CO., LTD., and TÜV Nord Cert GmbH—are now barred from auditing projects under key Verra programs.
These include Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU) projects in the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program, as well as projects under the Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SD VISta) and Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards (CCBS) programs.
While TÜV Nord Cert GmbH’s suspension applies only to China, the other three VVBs face global restrictions, Verra said in a statement on Tuesday.
“This decision was not made lightly, but Verra’s commitment to integrity means upholding the highest standards of quality and trust, and maintaining market confidence must come first,” Chief Program Management Officer Justin Wheler said.
“While we recognize the impact of this suspension on affected projects, ensuring rigorous and credible validations and verifications is critical,” he added.
Relevant: Verra Rejects 37 Rice Cultivation Projects In China, Sanctions Auditors And Proponents
Following the rejection of the rice projects in August 2024, Verra identified critical nonconformities and required the VVBs to submit corrective action reports. However, these reports were deemed insufficient, leading to the suspension.
The affected VVBs may regain approval if they successfully address the identified issues and meet Verra’s reinstatement requirements.
In the meantime, Verra will not accept new project registrations or issuance requests involving these VVBs.
Existing projects audited by the suspended firms must now secure a new VVB, with Verra granting deadline extensions and waiving new review fees to accommodate the transition.
Verra has updated its website to reflect these suspensions and will provide further updates on the status of affected projects in its registry.
Read more: Verra Provides Compensation Update For Rejected Rice Cultivation Projects In China
