Sustainable Development Through High-Integrity Carbon Markets

Vulnerable populations, particularly in the Global South, bear the brunt of climate change, grappling with the intertwined challenges of poverty, inequality and a lack of access to resources. As we address the climate emergency, the Integrity Council prioritises sustainable, equitable solutions designed to bring transformative impacts for vulnerable communities.

Through rigorous standards, the Integrity Council ensures that carbon credits deliver core benefits – sustainable outcomes embedded in each project’s design, supporting both communities and the environment. Sustainable development is therefore a cornerstone of global climate action.

Research shows that global use of carbon markets – as long as they are high-integrity – could allow the world to nearly double climate ambition relative to current Paris pledges over 2020-2035, all without increasing total costs. By unlocking additional finance that would not otherwise be available, the VCM can provide a crucial source of funding for projects that support adaptation, build resilience, and drive positive sustainable development outcomes.

This is particularly important for communities in the Global South, where climate finance is often limited but urgently needed.

Achieving these goals requires financial support and international cooperation on an unprecedented scale. The voluntary carbon market (VCM), powered by high-integrity carbon credits, offers a powerful mechanism to help provide the necessary finance to the regions that need it most.

The Integrity Council is committed to ensuring that the VCM not only helps to reduce global emissions but also delivers tangible benefits that contribute to sustainable development, particularly in the Global South. The Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) are designed to embed positive sustainable development outcomes into the design and implementation of carbon credit projects, ensuring that carbon finance brings long-lasting improvements to communities, ecosystems, and economies. Meanwhile, the Continuous Improvement Work Programs (CIWPs) continuously strengthen these standards, focusing on robust socio-environmental safeguard, sustainable development impact management and equitable benefit-sharing.

Aligning Carbon Finance with the Sustainable Development Goals

The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a clear roadmap for global progress across social, economic, and environmental dimensions. Each CCP-labelled carbon credit is designed to deliver outcomes aligned with the SDGs, channelling finance to local-level projects that support positive contributions to sustainable development including improved health, infrastructure, and economic resilience.

The CCPs require that all carbon credit projects meet rigorous criteria for social and environmental safeguards, ensuring projects are designed to deliver measurable benefits that extend beyond emissions reductions. This includes promoting decent work, fostering economic growth and improving health outcomes in the communities where projects are based.

Unlocking Climate Finance for the Global South

Many developing countries are on the front lines of the climate crisis and face significant barriers to accessing the funding required for climate adaptation and sustainable development. A reformed VCM can unlock private finance for sustainable development projects in regions where it is most needed.

High-integrity carbon credits can direct resources to these regions, supporting projects that would not otherwise be viable, to build resilience and create new opportunities.

By promoting projects that align with the SDGs, the CCPs ensure that carbon finance drives lasting progress toward sustainable development. This includes projects that support sustainable agriculture and protect biodiversity. These projects not only reduce emissions but also deliver social and economic co-benefits that are critical to the future prosperity of the communities involved.

A High-Integrity Market with Sustainable Development at its Core

As highlighted by the IPCC, sustainable development is fundamental to effective climate strategies – it’s not optional but a requirement for any high-integrity carbon credit, ensuring that projects deliver long-term social and environmental benefits. Our CCPs require that all carbon credit projects operate with a focus on delivering sustainable development impacts alongside emissions reductions.

Projects must implement robust social safeguards to protect the rights and well-being of people, and they must show how they are contributing to broader development goals, such as improving infrastructure, education, and health.

Crucially, the CCPs also demand transparency. Projects disclose how they manage and distribute revenues, ensuring that the benefits of carbon finance are shared equitably with the communities involved. This ensures projects operate under the principle of shared prosperity, with the financial gains from carbon credits supporting not only environmental protection but also socio-economic progress.

A Commitment to Continuous Improvement

As part of our mission to ensure that the VCM drives sustainable development, there is a Continuous Improvement Work Program (CIWP) focused on further strengthening the sustainable development requirements of the CCPs. This program is exploring ways to further increase transparency around benefit-sharing arrangements and ensure that projects continue to meet the highest standards of social and environmental responsibility. The CIWPs reinforce the Integrity Council’s dedication to core benefits by refining standards on robust social safeguards, sustainable development positive impacts and transparent and equitable benefit-sharing. This ensures that projects adhere to the highest standards of social and environmental responsibility and financial transparency.

By ratcheting up ambition for sustainable development, we aim to create a VCM that not only supports immediate emissions reductions but also drives long-term, sustainable growth in the regions most affected by climate change. This commitment to continuous improvement ensures that our work evolves in line with the latest science, technology, and market developments, while taking into account the needs and priorities of the communities that projects operate in, so that the VCM remains a powerful tool for achieving global climate and development goals.

Building a Sustainable Future Together

COP29 presents a pivotal moment for leaders, businesses, and civil society to advance sustainable, equitable climate action. ICVCM’s standards ensure that carbon finance delivers positive outcomes for both climate and sustainable development, channelling finance to projects with the greatest socio-environmental need. The Integrity Council is proud to play a role in this global effort by ensuring that the voluntary carbon market delivers not just on climate action but also on sustainable development.

Our work is underpinned by a belief that high-integrity carbon credits can be a force for positive change. By working to ensure carbon finance supports the Sustainable Development Goals, we are helping to create a world where climate protection and restoration go hand in hand with positive social and environmental outcomes. Through our Core Carbon Principles, we are raising the standard for what a high-quality carbon credit looks like, ensuring that every project contributes to a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable future.

As we approach COP29, our message is clear: a high-integrity voluntary carbon market is essential for delivering finance that would otherwise not be available, to support sustainable development around the world, particularly in countries that are the poorest and most vulnerable to climate change. By working together with governments, NGOs, businesses, and local communities, we can ensure that the VCM continues to drive progress toward a more sustainable and equitable future.

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The Integrity Council recognises Indigenous Peoples and / or local communities as different and distinct peoples with discreet rights and interests as expressed in international and national instruments, and in traditional laws.

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