Statement on the withdrawal from the ICVCM expert panel
Quality and credibility in the voluntary carbon market
© plainpicture / Cavan Images
In September 2024, Oeko-Institut withdrew from the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM), of which it was a founding member. Lambert Schneider, Research Coordinator for International Climate Policy at Oeko-Institut, was Co-Chair of the Expert Panel of the ICVCM from 2021 to 2023 and thereafter member of the panel. The ICVCM has been established to set a global benchmark for high-quality carbon credits. The decision was prompted by concerns that the ICVCM will categorise carbon credits as high quality that do not meet ICVCM's criteria and requirements.
In November 2024, the ICVCM approved three methodologies for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD).
In a joint blog post, Lambert Schneider and other ICVCM experts explain why the three approved methodologies do not meet the requirements. One of the three methodologies – Verra's new VM0048 methodology for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation – has also been assessed by the Carbon Credit Quality Initiative (CCQI). The CCQI concluded that the methodology is likely to overestimate emission reductions by more than 30 per cent.
