WASHINGTON , March 31, 2023 (press release) –
The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (IC-VCM) released its Core Carbon Principles and Program-level Assessment Framework, setting ambitious standards for the entire voluntary carbon market to ensure quality, integrity, and genuine climate impact. Rita Hite, president and CEO of the American Forest Foundation (AFF), published the following statement in response to the principles:
“There is no viable path to avoid global climate catastrophe without leveraging natural climate solutions – and the best way to do that right now is through the voluntary carbon market. The IC-VCM's principles are an ambitious and necessary step toward raising the standard of carbon crediting to ensure that the market is having a meaningful impact on our atmosphere all while creating more certainty in the market.
The principles not only speak to the quality of credits but also to the governance of programs, providing standardized and actionable criteria for programs to improve their operations. The principles represent a shared language and vision for a higher-quality voluntary carbon market, focused on delivering at scale and with impact.
AFF’s Family Forest Carbon Program already meets many of the standards these principles call for, and we are prepared to continue to evolve our best practices to address the needs of the market and our planet. These principles bring us one step closer to achieving our ambitious global climate goals.”
In 2022, the American Forest Foundation supported the development of the IC-VCM Core Carbon Principles by providing extensive feedback during the group’s public consultation period. To learn more about AFF’s Family Forest Carbon Program, visit familyforestcarbon.org.
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About The American Forest Foundation
The American Forest Foundation (AFF) harnesses the power of family forests to fight climate change. Our Family Forest Carbon Program provides the tools for small landowners to improve the health and climate potential of their forests. To learn more about AFF’s commitment to fighting climate change, visit www.forestfoundation.org.
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