The Core Carbon Principles
Impact Report 2025
Advancing High-Integrity Climate Action at Scale
In recent years, the voluntary carbon market has undergone a transformation, guided by the Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) and the leadership of the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM).
Increasingly, a shared understanding of integrity is becoming the cornerstone of carbon markets, shaping standards, governance, and trust across the globe.
The CCPs have set a global threshold for high-integrity carbon credits, enabling finance to flow to projects and communities that deliver real climate impact. Today, buyers, regulators, and policymakers recognise the CCPs as the reference point for credibility, with governments embedding these principles into national frameworks and developers designing projects to meet the rigorous requirements of the CCPs from the outset.
This progress is tangible: CCP-Approved methodologies are being used to design and implement projects to reduce emissions, while restoring ecosystems, and improving livelihoods worldwide. The ICVCM’s collaborative approach – working with a wide range of stakeholders from governments, programs, developers, Indigenous Peoples as well as local communities, to scientists, and investors – ensures that integrity remains an ongoing commitment, guiding the next phase of climate action.
In a remarkably short time, the voluntary carbon market has been reshaped around the standards, safeguards, and governance systems introduced in our Core Carbon Principles (CCPs). This transformation has been steered by the ICVCM’s diverse, multidisciplinary Governing Board, ensuring robust governance and assurance for integrity. What began as an aspiration — to create a global threshold for high-integrity carbon credits — is now a working reality.
Annette L. Nazareth
Chair of the Governing Board, Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market
*For the latest information on the Coalition to Grow Carbon Markets visit: https://coalitiontogrowcarbonmarkets.org
Key themes
Raising the Bar: Assessments and Assurance
Since 2023, by end of November, 2025, ICVCM had approved 7 major carbon-crediting programs and 36 methodologies, raising standards for governance, project design, and implementation. Projects and programs across the world are now adapting to meet the CCP threshold.
Market Momentum: The Rise of High-Integrity Credits
CCP-labelled credits command price premiums and growing demand, driving a virtuous cycle of improvement. As of October 2025, there were over 51 million credits using CCP approved methodologies, representing 4% of the 2024 market volume, with hundreds of millions more in the pipeline.
Global Reach: Impact Across Regions and Sectors
The CCPs are making a difference worldwide, with high-integrity carbon market frameworks being adopted and adapted in diverse contexts—from Africa and Southeast Asia to Latin America, the US, and Europe.
Policy to Practice: Driving Systemic Change
Governments and regulators are aligning with CCPs, integrating them into emissions trading systems, carbon taxes, and Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The CCPs are supporting convergence between voluntary and compliance markets, unlocking finance and accelerating progress toward climate goals.
Collective Action: Voices and Partnerships
The ICVCM collaborates with multilateral organisations, civil society, and the Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Engagement Forum, amplifying local voices and leadership in carbon markets.
Improving Impact: Research, Science, and Innovation
Continuous Improvement Work Programs and the Science and Research Network ensure the CCPs evolve with the latest science, stakeholder input, and best practices.
Download the Full Report
The full Core Carbon Principles Impact Report 2025 offers a comprehensive look at how the ICVCM is raising the bar for integrity in carbon markets.
Inside, you’ll find an overview of the rigorous assessment and assurance process for programs and methodologies, insights into the growing demand and market momentum for CCP-labelled credits, and a series of real-world case studies that highlight the positive climate, social, and economic impacts of carbon projects across diverse regions.
The report also explores how governments and regulators are aligning with CCPs to drive systemic change; highlights the power of collective action and partnerships – including the vital role of both Indigenous Peoples and local communities – and details ICVCM’s commitment to continuous improvement through research, innovation, and stakeholder engagement.
Case Studies
Discover how CCP-Approved methodologies are making a tangible difference around the world. Each case study highlights the real-world impact of high-integrity carbon projects – showcasing climate action, community benefits, and innovative solutions across diverse regions and sectors. Explore the stories behind the data and see how integrity in carbon markets translates into meaningful change for people and the planet.
