VCMI welcomes UK Principles of high-integrity voluntary carbon markets and process for implementation
15 November 2024, London – The UK Government has today announced ‘Principles for voluntary carbon and nature market integrity‘ (Principles) and a process to ensure their implementation, including a public consultation to determine how to strengthen market integrity to support the UK’s domestic and global climate and nature goals.
The private sector has a critical role to play in meeting global climate goals and financing climate action. It has been estimated that voluntary carbon markets could channel an additional $50 billion in finance for climate action from the private sector by 2030.
This announcement positions the UK among other leading countries, including the United States and the G7, in recognizing the essential role that high-integrity VCMs must play in the global low carbon transformation.
The UK Principles include a focus on biodiversity integration, claims integrity and mandatory reporting. A consultation in early 2025 will look at proposed implementation of these principles, through guidance, standards and regulatory oversight by UK Government.
“Companies and investors need clear signals that taking action and being ambitious on climate using voluntary carbon markets is supported and recommended by policy makers, and that is what the UK Government is providing today,” says Mark Kenber, Executive Director of VCMI. “The principles for high integrity voluntary carbon markets are well aligned with the VCMI Claims Code, establishing a robust framework for ambitious, transparent use of VCMs to fund climate action. Alongside the guidance and guardrails, we also need the incentives that will encourage the private sector to use carbon credits with integrity and confidence in this critical decade.”
“The climate crisis is here and disproportionately impacting society’s most vulnerable,” adds Usha Rao-Monari, VCMI Steering Committee Chair and previously Under Secretary-General of the UN Development Programme (UNDP). “The scale of the challenge only adds to the urgency of mobilizing critical sources of finance for climate action globally. The UK’s announcement makes an important contribution in harnessing this opportunity. The finance to be unlocked can help the UK Government deliver on its promise to show renewed climate leadership.”
Specific ways in which the Principles from the UK raise the global bar include:
- Explicitly incorporating biodiversity protection and nature-based solutions.
- Directly tackling misleading claims terminology (e.g., “carbon neutral”).
- Mandating sustainability reporting for credit use.
- Inclusion of an explicit focus on FPIC and Indigenous rights.
- Requiring detailed project-level disclosure.
Global organizations like VCMI and ICVCM have laid the groundwork, but government support, as demonstrated by the UK, is essential for ensuring a move to high-integrity market participation and ensuring impact of voluntary carbon markets.
VCMI welcomes alignment of the UK Principles with the VCMI Claims Code of Practice. The inclusion of VCMI’s Scope 3 Claim (currently in beta) within the consultation is also an important step in addressing a complex issue which it is essential businesses are able to tackle. The Claim still being developed in parallel by VCMI, will enable companies to go further and faster in taking action, where progress on scope 3 emission has met challenges.
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