The UK government has published new materials that aim to bolster the integrity of voluntary carbon and nature credit markets. Alongside new principles to underpin market integrity, the government has outlined a process to ensure their implementation, including a 2025 public consultation to determine how they can support the UK’s domestic and global climate and nature goals. “Companies and investors need clear signals that taking action and being ambitious on climate using voluntary carbon markets (VCMs) is supported and recommended by policymakers, and that is what the UK government is providing,” said Mark Kenber, Executive Director of the Voluntary Carbon Markets initiative (VCMI). The UK principles explicitly incorporate biodiversity and nature-based solutions, aim to tackle misleading terminology – such as ‘carbon neutral’ – and mandate sustainability reporting for credit use, such as project-level disclosures. In addition, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has issued its final report on 21 best practices for promoting the financial integrity and orderly functioning of VCMs. These practices are divided into four focus areas: regulatory frameworks, primary market issuance, secondary market trading, and use and disclosure of carbon credits. Meanwhile, the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) has approved three methodologies for issuing high-integrity carbon credits for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) in developing countries for its Core Carbon Principle (CCP) label. REDD+ credits generated from these projects are expected to start issuing CCP labels from early next year. “There is no chance of meeting our climate and biodiversity goals without increased finance for nature, Indigenous Peoples and local communities,” said Amy Merrill, ICVCM’s CEO.
