Standards for climate projects
Standards and independent auditing mechanisms set quality criteria for climate projects
Climate projects go through a clearly defined process. This process ensures that projects meet quality requirements, are continuously monitored, and are regularly audited.
The importance of standards
Certified climate projects are based on international standards such as the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) or the Gold Standard (GS). These standards set the rules and requirements that climate projects must meet for their emission reductions to be recognized. Standards ensure the comparability of verified emission reductions in the voluntary and the compliance carbon market.
Standards perform the following tasks
- Definition of requirements for project design and applied technologies
- Specification of methodologies for the quantification of verified emission reductions
- Definition of rules for validation and verification by independent third parties
- Maintenance of a registry for the issuance, tracking, and retirement of verified emission reductions
The role of standards in the project lifecycle
Standards accompany climate projects from the beginning and throughout their entire lifecycle. They are crucial in ensuring the effectiveness of climate projects and that they lead to real and measurable CO₂ emission reductions.
If a project developer wants to implement a climate project, they must prepare a Project Design Document (PDD) in accordance with the selected methodology. The PDD is comparable to a business plan and includes project objectives, location, project duration, and implementation. It is typically a prerequisite for registering a project in a standard’s registry.
The methodology sets out the requirements a climate project must meet to be registered, including:
- Criteria for project design
- Requirements for the monitoring plan (project monitoring by the project developer)
- Detailed procedures for quantifying verified emission reductions
- Assessment of additionality
- Temporal and geographic scope
The project developer must apply the most up-to-date version of the methodology. Each recognised project technology has its own methodology.
The role of auditors in the climate project lifecycle
Validation of climate projects
Independent third parties review and validate the PDD and the information it contains. This includes project site visits, interviews, and on-site analyses. These accredited auditors are also referred to as Validation and Verification Bodies (VVBs) and must be approved by the registry. Examples include TÜV Nord/Süd, S&A Carbon LLC, and SCS Global Services.
After successful validation, the project can be registered in the standard’s registry.
Following registration, the project developer begins implementing the project while simultaneously starting the first monitoring phase. During the monitoring phase, the project developer monitors and documents project activities and collects the data required to calculate verified emission reductions.
Verification of climate projects
At the end of each monitoring phase, a VVB reviews and assesses whether the data and project activities reported in the monitoring report are accurate.
Once verification is successfully completed, the verified emission reductions can be issued ex post as verified emission reductions (VERs).
Retirement of verified emission reductions
When a verified emission reduction is used, it must be retired. This process is recorded in the registries to ensure that each verified emission reduction is used only once. Once retired, it can no longer be sold.
The steps of monitoring, verification, and issuance of VERs are repeated periodically and form a continuous cycle.
Information on selected standards and VVBs
At ClimatePartner, we only accept climate projects that work with trusted standards.
These include the following standards:
Gold Standard
The Gold Standard for climate projects was developed with the participation of WWF and 40 other NGOs. The non-profit Swiss Gold Standard Foundation runs the secretariat for the standard. The standard sets strict requirements for sustainable development and the involvement of local communities.
Gold Standard for the Global Goals is an evolution of the standard introduced in 2017. It takes a multidimensional approach to accelerate progress toward climate action and sustainable development. Certification under the standard enables projects to provide measurable, verified evidence of their contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals in addition to their emission reductions.
Focus of Gold Standard projects
Gold Standard projects focus on social and environmental co-benefits. Typical project types include improved cookstoves, clean drinking water, agroforestry, afforestation, and renewable energy.
Validation and verification bodies
The VVBs recognized by the Gold Standard include companies such as TÜV Nord Cert, Carbon Check (India) Pvt. Ltd, and Re Carbon.
Verified Carbon Standard (VCS)
Well over half of all voluntary emission reductions worldwide are validated and verified according to the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS). The standard defines clear requirements for determining CO₂ emission reductions for various project types, such as afforestation, forest protection (REDD+), wind energy, or improved cookstoves.
The VCS is administered by the standard setter Verra. Projects must be calculated using approved methodologies and audited by independent third-party auditors. The resulting certificates are referred to as Verified Carbon Units (VCUs).
Focus of VCS projects
VCS projects cover a broad range of climate project types. These include forest protection projects (REDD+), afforestation and reforestation, as well as renewable energy projects.
Verifiers and verification bodies
The VVBs recognized by the VCS include companies such as AENOR International S.A.U, Carbon Check (India) Pvt. Ltd, SCS Global Services, S&A Carbon, and TÜV Süd South Asia Private Limited.
Additional standards for climate projects
Climate projects can also be certified with additional standards. These complement a recognized standard such as the Gold Standard or the Verified Carbon Standard.
Common additional standards include
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