ICVCM Clears Coal Closure and Forest Restoration Methods

By Olivia Hart

47 carbon-crediting methodologies across 13 programs have been approved as eligible under the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market’s Core Carbon Principles framework since March 2024, with an estimated 120.7 million credits cleared to use the CCP label.

The council announced Tuesday that two recent methodologies passed its assessment: Verra’s “VM0052 Accelerated Retirement of Coal-Fired Power Plants Using a Just Transition v1.1” and Equitable Earth’s “M001 Methodology for Terrestrial Forest Restoration v1.3.”

ICVCM said both methods met the relevant requirements of its CCP assessment framework, including “emissions accounting, permanence and other integrity criteria.” Verra described VM0052 as the first energy-transition methodology to receive the council’s approval. Equitable Earth’s forest method secured the first approval for its program.

The decisions set eligibility rules for the methodologies, rather than blanket approval of every project. They make carbon credits conditional on project performance. Paper eligibility does not settle the result.

What does the coal-closure method require?

Verra’s VM0052 applies to financially viable, grid-connected coal-fired power plants that retire ahead of schedule. Renewable electricity must replace some or all of their lost generating capacity. The methodology quantifies the net greenhouse-gas reductions resulting from those projects.

It also requires project planners to address the social and economic consequences of shutting plants early. That work must cover employees, contractors, households and surrounding communities, including potential losses of jobs and livelihoods.

Changes made during ICVCM’s assessment added three further tests. Projects must address conflicts of interest between system operators and developers, demonstrate that grid reliability will not be harmed, and meet milestones for replacing retired generation with renewable electricity.

Credit issuance can be paused if the replacement milestones are missed. In plain terms, closing the plant does not secure the credits; replacement power and grid safeguards must follow.

What does the forest restoration method require?

Equitable Earth’s M001 covers restoration of degraded forest landscapes and assisted natural regeneration. Projects must use approaches suited to local ecosystems and native species.

The rules extend beyond carbon arithmetic. Projects must support habitat recovery for native and threatened biodiversity and avoid commercial timber production and harvesting. They must also involve Indigenous Peoples and local communities and provide livelihood benefits throughout the project period.

ICVCM said the method met its requirements for “additionality, permanence and robust quantification.” In plain terms, the forest method ties credits to native ecosystems and sustained community benefits, not commercial timber output.

What happens next?

The immediate market test is issuance under the approved methodologies. Coal projects must meet their renewable replacement milestones, while forest projects must maintain the required restoration, participation and livelihood commitments through the project period. A missed coal milestone can pause credit issuance.

Verra also delayed a new carbon credit standard to July 2027 after industry pushback, while Equitable Earth separately welcomed a new Technical Advisory Board. No membership or timetable details for the board were provided.

The decisive milestone comes at issuance: coal developers must meet renewable replacement milestones, while forest developers must sustain restoration, Indigenous and local community involvement, and livelihood benefits. Missed coal milestones can pause credit issuance.