CIFOR-ICRAF’s new standard provides a technical blueprint for designing, implementing, and certifying mangrove blue carbon projects in Indonesia. It offers rigorous guidance on baseline setting, additionality, leakage, MRV, and legal frameworks, helping scale high-integrity coastal carbon initiatives.
Developed by GFI Hive, UNDP BIOFIN, and UNEP FI as part of the Revenues for Nature series, this guidebook supports countries and investors in designing nature-based revenue models for freshwater systems. It showcases mechanisms including green user charges, biodiversity-linked bonds, and blended finance facilities. With deep dives into 10+ global case studies, it outlines the enabling environment, governance, regulation, metrics, needed to scale capital for freshwater ecosystem protection.
This second edition guide provides practical steps for governments to include blue carbon ecosystems in their NDCs. It outlines key policy levers, data requirements, and enabling conditions for integrating coastal wetlands into national mitigation and adaptation strategies under the Paris Agreement.
In this practical guide, VCMI outlines how countries can build the enabling environments needed to access carbon markets credibly and effectively. The toolkit includes an Access Framework with indicators across governance, safeguards, finance, data, and policy. It helps users identify capacity gaps, prioritize investments, and coordinate across ministries. Developed with a focus on equity and climate ambition, the toolkit is designed to support implementation of Article 6 and the transition toward high-integrity, country-driven carbon market participation.
The Carbon Crediting Data Framework (CCDF) proposes a standardized schema for core carbon crediting data. Developed by RMI with ecosystem input, it supports transparency, lowers transaction costs, and enables cross-platform interoperability. The framework addresses project metadata, MRV inputs, risk disclosures, and monitoring outputs. By reducing duplicated due diligence, currently consuming 60%+ of some teams’ time, it allows stakeholders to more efficiently assess credit quality. The CCDF lays the groundwork for more automated, trusted digital carbon markets.
The World Bank’s Carbon Markets Infrastructure Working Group sets out governance priorities for scaling carbon markets. The note provides recommendations on institutional roles, regulatory oversight, data integrity, and accountability, outlining a foundational framework for resilient market infrastructure.
This guidance from VCMI helps companies navigate Scope 3 emissions in line with credible climate action. It outlines three key principles: reduce first, disclose transparently, and limit credit use to no more than 25% of Scope 3 emissions annually. The Code complements SBTi targets and integrity claims, ensuring that corporate offsetting strategies do not undermine decarbonization. It aims to create demand-side accountability, clarify buyer claims, and bolster trust in high-quality carbon markets as part of the net zero transition.
MSCI released its Understanding Carbon Markets guide in December 2024. It explains how compliance and voluntary carbon markets work, the role of high-quality carbon credits, and how investors and companies use them to meet climate goals. It aims to equip stakeholders to engage effectively with carbon markets and drive global decarbonization.
Released in April 2025, Opna’s Impact Framework helps assess carbon removal (CDR) projects beyond carbon capture. It evaluates five key areas: carbon, innovation, social, economic and environmental impacts. The framework supports the building of custom climate strategies, ensuring measurable outcomes, and de-risking carbon removal investments.
MSCI released its Understanding Carbon Markets guide in December 2024. It explains how compliance and voluntary carbon markets work, the role of high-quality carbon credits, and how investors and companies use them to meet climate goals. It aims to equip stakeholders to engage effectively with carbon markets and drive global decarbonization.