The International Carbon Registry (ICR) has published its 2026 program update, revising requirements for carbon projects and the methods used to assess and verify their emissions reductions.
The changes cover five documents, including the registry’s main requirements, methodology rules, methodology approval process, definitions and validation and verification specifications. Updated project, methodology and reporting templates were released alongside the documents.
A central change shifts the program’s methodology framework from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) toward the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM). Active CDM methodologies will serve as good-practice guidance rather than the program’s primary methodology basis.
The revisions introduce clearer definitions and requirements for activity-shifting, market and ecological or biophysical leakage. They also establish requirements for reassessing baselines and making downward adjustments.
Provisions governing credit ownership and double counting have been revised, while rules for international transfers now extend beyond the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).
Under the updated verification specifications, validation and verification bodies must hold ISO 14065 accreditation from an accreditation body belonging to the International Accreditation Forum or the Greenhouse Gas Accreditation Consortium. They must also identify the accreditation used for each engagement. The rules provide more detailed criteria for materiality, sampling, site visits, findings, opinions, impartiality and competence.
The scientific integrity assessment remains within the scope of validation and verification bodies, with additional reporting requirements. Full information on the update can be found here.
Relevant: ICR Seeks Stakeholder Input On Overhaul Of Key Carbon Project Standards
The draft underwent a month-long public consultation until August 12, alongside a technical consultation with approved validation and verification bodies.
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