The rules the field runs on.

The largest voluntary crediting programme and registry; VCS methodologies underpin most nature-based credits.

A high-integrity crediting standard for carbon and SDG impact, widely used for cookstove, energy and nature projects.

One of the oldest voluntary offset registries, with methodologies spanning forestry, agriculture and industrial sources.

The crediting standard for jurisdictional, national-scale REDD+ emission reductions, central to forest-country carbon finance.

The UN crediting mechanism under Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement, successor to the Clean Development Mechanism. Its methodology and removals standards were adopted at COP29 (2024) and an interim registry is being operationalised to issue and hold A6.4ERs, making it the emerging compliance-grade counterpart to the voluntary standards.

A North-America-focused offset registry and standards body with protocols across forestry, agriculture and industrial gases.

The integrity threshold for the voluntary carbon market: the Core Carbon Principles that assess whether credits meet a high-quality bar.

The demand-side counterpart to ICVCM: a Claims Code governing how companies can credibly use carbon credits.

A science-led registry for durable carbon removal, with public protocols and a focus on rigorous, transparent verification.

A community-led standard for smallholder and nature-based projects, with public PDDs, technical specifications and validation reports on its PV Climate registry.

A free EDF and Oeko-Institut tool that scores carbon-credit types across seven quality objectives on a 1 to 5 confidence scale, shown separately rather than aggregated.

Four principles for credible net-zero-aligned offsetting (cut emissions first, shift to removals, shift to durable storage, support market scaling).

The foundational corporate carbon-accounting standard (Scopes 1, 2 and 3) that nearly all other frameworks build on.

The body that validates corporate and financial-institution emission-reduction targets against a 1.5°C pathway.

The global environmental disclosure system through which thousands of companies and cities report climate, water and forest data.

The global baseline for sustainability and climate financial disclosure (IFRS S1/S2), which has absorbed the TCFD recommendations.

International standards for quantifying and reporting greenhouse-gas emissions (14064) and for carbon neutrality claims (14068).

The reference framework for responsible mineral supply chains from conflict-affected and high-risk areas.

The global standard for transparency in oil, gas and mineral revenues, implemented across resource-rich developing countries.

A multi-stakeholder standard and independent third-party audit system for environmentally and socially responsible mine sites.

The EU’s carbon border tariff on imports of iron, steel, aluminium, cement, fertiliser, electricity and hydrogen, reshaping trade for carbon-intensive exporters.

EU rules on the carbon footprint, recycled content, due diligence and digital passport of batteries, central to critical-minerals supply chains.

The disclosure framework helping organisations report and act on nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities.

The nature counterpart to SBTi: methods for companies to set science-based targets for land, freshwater, ocean and biodiversity.