Gold Standard Submits for Programme-Level Assessment by ICVCM, Champions Alignment with the Paris Agreement

Gold Standard has announced it has submitted programme-level information to the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM), becoming the first major standard to do so.

The submission, which is now under assessment to determine its alignment with the Core Carbon Principles (CCPs), provides details on Gold Standard governance and overarching criteria, including sustainable development provisions, assurance approaches, double counting and additionality. This marks an important moment for the carbon market and is a crucial step towards CCP credit-level labelling.

Margaret Kim, the CEO of Gold Standard, said:

“We are proud to be the first major standard to seek ICVCM programme-level approval. Building the integrity of the carbon market is vital. As a pioneer of the inclusion of sustainable development and safeguarding in carbon crediting we welcome their inclusion. We will continue to push the boundaries of what we and the wider market can do to support our collective journey towards a just global net zero.”

Gold Standard welcomes ICVCM’s Continuous Improvement Work Programme, which includes work on alignment with the Paris Agreement, and encourages experts to support this crucial effort.

All voluntary action should align with and support the Agreement’s objectives. Gold Standard will work with ICVCM on future iterations to ensure:

• Direct Strategy: Use the Paris Agreement as a foundational guide for shaping carbon market standards and ensure credits operate within this context, creating action and ambition and mitigating any risk of perverse incentives.
• Uphold Integrity: Incorporate key Paris Agreement elements, like safeguarding and sustainable development, to ensure environmental integrity.
• Boost Accountability: Address challenges transparently and responsibly, enhancing the carbon market's credibility and impact.

We support the ICVCM’s goal to set a quality benchmark for carbon markets and anticipate further collaboration on our programme level and credit level applications.

Gold Standard will decide on which methodologies it will submit to ICVCM once their credit-level approach is further defined.