The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) has approved six engineered carbon dioxide removal (CDR) methodologies, marking another milestone for the sector after the approval of three biochar methodologies earlier this year.
Engineered CDR currently accounts for less than 1% of issued credits in the voluntary market.
However, forward sales are growing quickly, with expectations that CDR will claim a much larger share as the UK and EU explore integrating such credits into compliance markets within the next five years.
Newly Approved CDR Pathways
The methodologies now eligible to issue CCP-labelled credits include:
- Gold Standard – Accelerated Carbonation of Concrete Aggregate (v1.0)
- Isometric – Biomass Geological Storage (v1.0–1.1)
- Isometric – Bio-oil Geological Storage (v1.0–1.1)
- Isometric – Subsurface Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage (v1.0)
- Isometric – Biogenic Carbon Capture and Storage (v1.1)
- Isometric – Direct Air Capture (v1.1)
Relevant: Isometric Issues First CCP-Labeled Credits After ICVCM Approved Its Methodology
Although these frameworks have only issued about 30,000 credits to date, market growth is accelerating.
Twenty-four projects are already registered under Isometric’s methodologies, with potential annual issuance exceeding 3.2 million credits, while 15 projects under Gold Standard’s methodology could generate more than 9,000 credits annually.
In addition to engineered removals, ICVCM granted CCP-Approved status to two land-based approaches: CAR Mexico Forest Protocol v3 (Improved Forest Management) and VM0047 v1.1 (Afforestation, Reforestation and Revegetation).
Relevant: ICVCM Approves New Biochar And IFM Methodologies
The CAR methodology, covering more than 8.1 million credits issued to date, was upgraded from conditional to full approval after revising leakage accounting to align with the latest research.
VM0047 v1.1, an update to a framework first approved in December 2024, expands eligibility to some forested lands and allows remote sensing for biomass assessment. While no credits have yet been issued, more than 60 projects are in development across both versions, with potential issuance of nearly 10 million credits annually.
Annette Nazareth, Chair of the ICVCM, said: “The science is clear that both reductions and removals are critical to effective climate action. These latest approvals will open up new options for integrity-focused buyers.”
