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The Integrity Council at COP29: Leading the Way to a High-Integrity International Carbon Market

Written by ICVCM

Published

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As we approach COP29 in Baku, the world’s attention is once again on the urgent need for action to combat the climate emergency. High-integrity carbon markets are essential to unlocking the private finance needed to meet the targets set out in the Paris Agreement and scale real climate action.

The Integrity Council is ready to lead this effort, as leaders from across civil society, government and business gather to discuss how we can accelerate global climate ambitions. The world cannot afford to wait – action is imperative now.

A high-integrity international carbon market plays a key role in meeting this challenge. Through our Core Carbon Principles (CCPs), we set the first independent global standard for high-quality verified carbon credits, ensuring that they deliver genuine, measurable, and lasting impacts.

At the start of COP29 our goal remains clear and unchanged – to unlock private finance at the scale and speed needed to support impactful and inclusive climate solutions.

This is an important time for carbon markets, and we are proud to play a leading role. Here, we outline our role at COP29, the importance of our CCPs, and how a reformed, high-integrity VCM can be a key tool in our collective response to the climate emergency.

We are still falling short of meeting the targets set by the Paris Agreement. The recent global stocktake highlights the urgent need for increased ambition to bridge the gap between current efforts and the emissions reductions required.

A high-integrity carbon market is a crucial tool to help close this gap. By mobilising investment that would not otherwise be available, it can channel much-needed private finance to the local level, supporting climate solutions, particularly in the Global South. These regions are often on the front lines of the climate crisis and ensuring that resources reach these communities is vital for effective, inclusive climate action.

The Integrity Council is committed to building a global carbon market that operates at the highest standards of environmental and social integrity. At COP29, we will continue to advocate for the adoption of our CCPs as a global threshold for independent crediting mechanisms complimenting the A6 accounting framework and crediting mechanism and together ensuring that carbon markets deliver real, measurable, and lasting climate impact.

The impact of high-integrity carbon markets extends far beyond emissions reductions. They play a crucial role in supporting sustainable development, gender equality, and biodiversity protection. By channelling finance to where it is needed, carbon credits can support vital sustainable development goals, such as improving health, creating job opportunities, and protecting ecosystems.

High-integrity carbon markets also prioritises the needs of Indigenous Peoples and/or local communities. These groups are not only stakeholders but also stewards of the world’s most ecologically critical landscapes. Indigenous lands account for 40% of the planet’s ecologically intact areas, and Indigenous communities play a key role in protecting biodiversity. By ensuring that carbon projects operate with free, prior, and informed consent and deliver tangible benefits, the CCPs set a high standard for equity and inclusion.

This year marks a turning point for carbon markets. The first CCP-labelled carbon credits are now in the market. So far, our assessment and approval of methodologies means approximately 27 million unretired credits (3.6% of the market), generated by projects focused on reducing potent greenhouse gases such as methane and ozone-depleting substances.

As of now, five major carbon-crediting programs – ACR, ART, Climate Action Reserve, Gold Standard, and Verra – are now eligible to use the CCP label on CCP-Approved methodologies, marking a significant step forward in raising the integrity of the VCM. The volume of CCP-labelled credits available will continue to grow as our assessments progress and more programs and methodologies align with our high-integrity framework.

Our rigorous two-tick assessment process ensures that only credits meeting the highest standards of environmental and social integrity are approved to use the CCP label. This includes ensuring that projects are not only environmentally sound but also socially responsible, with robust safeguards in place to protect Indigenous Peoples and/or local communities and ensure benefit sharing.

As we continue to assess programs and methodologies, we are also committed to raising the bar for carbon credit quality and market integrity. We are working closely with a broad range of stakeholders, including experts from academia, regulators, NGOs, market actors, and Indigenous People and local communities, to continuously improve the Assessment Framework, ensuring it reflects the latest science, technology, and best practices. The work of our Continuous Improvement Work Programs plays a key role in maintaining market confidence, raising ambition and scaling carbon markets.

We need to act fast to decarbonise and meet net zero targets, and independent markets can enable companies to support these efforts, complimenting the actions of governments and international agreements. In parallel, the Integrity Council are working with the UNFCCC, other International Government Organisations and Governments to create a harmonised global standard for high integrity carbon credits. This means that supply countries can embed these standards into local projects and have broad access to markets.

As we head into COP29, our message is clear: high-integrity carbon markets are essential to scaling climate finance and driving real climate action. The world cannot afford to wait. We must act now to ensure that carbon markets deliver on their potential to unlock the finance needed to meet global climate goals.

The Integrity Council stands ready to lead this effort at COP29 and beyond.

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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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The Integrity Council at COP29

Join us as we lead efforts at COP29 to foster reformed, high-integrity international carbon markets that support an inclusive and resilient climate response.

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