The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market has approved three biochar and two improved forest management (IFM) methodologies to use its CCP label.
The approved biochar methodologies are: CAR – U.S. and Canada Biochar (Version 1.0), Isometric Biochar Production and Storage (Version 1.0) and Verra VM0044 Methodology for Biochar Utilization in Soil and Non-Soil Applications (Version 1.2). These three biochar methodologies are new, with no current issuance. However, 25 projects have been registered under Isometric Biochar Production and Storage and 500,000 credits are expected to be issued next year. Three projects have been registered under VM0044, with 249,000 credits expected to be issued annually.
The two ICVCM-approved IFM methodologies are: Verra VM0045 Methodology for Improved Forest Management Using Dynamic Matched Baselines from National Forest Inventories (Version 1.2) and ACR – Improved Forest Management (IFM) on Non-Federal U.S. Forestlands (Version 2.1), where an appropriate leakage deduction is applied for projects that decrease total wood products produced relative to the baseline.
VM0045 is a new methodology, with no credits issued to date and no projects registered as yet. Two projects are currently undergoing validation and are expected to issue 258,000 credits annually.
ACR IFM on Non-Federal U.S. Forestlands (Version 2.1) is an updated methodology, with no credits issued to date. Eighteen projects are listed under this version of the methodology, encompassing nearly 500,000 acres. ICVCM is currently evaluating ACR IFM (Version 2.0) and expects to announce its decision in September.
A further IFM methodology has been approved, CAR Mexico Forest Protocol (Version 3), but it is pending remedial action by CAR to ensure adherence to CCP criteria.