Voluntary Carbon Standard lays groundwork for forestry offset boom

The Voluntary Carbon Standard Association (VCSA) will today launch a new package of measures designed to strengthen its carbon offset verification scheme and lay the groundwork for the expected wave of forestry and land use-based emission-reduction projects.

Under the new requirements, emission-reduction projects wishing to carry the popular Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) label will have to adhere to more detailed and stringent requirements governing how they achieve third-party verification for their projects.

Speaking to BusinessGreen.com, VCSA chief executive David Antonioli said that while all VCS-approved projects already require third-party approval from two separate verification bodies, previous guidance on how this should be achieved was open to some interpretation.

"The new guidance is a lot more detailed and provides clear procedures on how you should hire a validator," he said. "We have added eligibility criteria for validators that have to be met, and there is also a new public consultation process for projects."

The new guidelines are designed to make it easier for project developers to submit new methodologies for assessing and verifying emission-reduction projects – a move the VCSA said should help enable the development of new asset classes, particularly in the form of forestry, soil and agricultural sector carbon credits.

Market watchers are predicting forestry-based credits will become increasingly popular as governments work to develop a means of financing forestry protection through Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) mechanisms as part of any post-Kyoto climate change deal.

Ellysar Baroudy, fund manager at the World Bank's BioCarbon Fund, welcomed the new VCSA requirements, predicting that it will provide a boost to the emerging market for forestry credits.

"The new clarification of the VCS validation process for new methodologies will be key in promoting emerging areas of the carbon market, such as REDD and soil carbon," she said. "Methodologies validated through the rigorous VCS process will send a strong message to the carbon market about the possibility of promoting REDD and soil carbon projects and reduce the risk perception in these areas."