Reserve launches work program on carbon credit permanence

Throughout its history, the Reserve has maintained 100 years as the most reputable accounting timeframe for the permanence of sequestration-based credits. The reasoning behind this approach is that early IPCC reports used this timeframe to calculate the Global Warming Potential of greenhouse gases relative to carbon dioxide; issuing credits for carbon sequestered for periods shorter than 100 years could effectively award 100 years’ worth of climate benefits without ensuring they are actually delivered.

The Reserve’s monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) requirements and compensation provisions are based on that timeframe. The Reserve also requires contributions to a buffer pool to compensate for credits that carry a risk of future reversal from unavoidable causes. To meet these obligations under the Reserve program, project owners are required to monitor for potential reversals, and to compensate for any reversals from avoidable causes, for 100 years after their last credit is issued. (Exceptions apply when projects use tonne-year accounting or when the end use provides a reasonable level of certainty about the long-term fate of the sequestered GHGs.)

In considering how its carbon crediting protocols should address permanence, the Reserve is motivated by the fundamental imperative of safeguarding environmental integrity while recognizing that the evolving policy context and rapid pace of innovation in this field mean that other ways of addressing permanence, from alternative timeframes for post-issuance monitoring to different tools for monitoring projects and addressing reversals, may be capable of protecting environmental integrity with rigor and transparency.

The Reserve is launching a work program to consider how its carbon crediting protocols should address permanence. Consistent with its collaborative approach, the organization is seeking input from stakeholders via two means. One is thoughts on key questions surrounding permanence. The other is participation in a workgroup to support the work program.

Links:

Questions may be directed to policy@climateactionreserve.org.

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La Reserva lanza programa de trabajo sobre permanencia de los créditos de carbono

A lo largo de su historia, la Reserva ha mantenido 100 años como el horizonte temporal de contabilidad con más reputación para la permanencia de los créditos basados en secuestro de carbono. La razón detrás de este enfoque es que los primeros informes del IPCC utilizaron este periodo para calcular el Potencial de Calentamiento Global de los gases de efecto invernadero en relación con el dióxido de carbono. Emitir créditos por carbono secuestrado durante periodos menores a 100 años podría, en efecto, otorgar beneficios climáticos equivalentes a 100 años sin garantizar que realmente se cumplan.

Los requisitos de monitoreo, reporte y verificación (MRV) y las disposiciones de compensación de la Reserva se basan en ese horizonte temporal. La Reserva también requiere contribuciones a un fondo de aseguramiento (buffer pool) para compensar los créditos que conllevan riesgo de reversión futura por causas inevitables. Para cumplir con estas obligaciones bajo el programa de la Reserva, los dueños de proyectos deben monitorear posibles reversiones y compensar cualquier reversión por causas evitables durante 100 años después de la emisión de su último crédito. (Existen excepciones cuando los proyectos utilizan contabilidad de tonelada-año o cuando el uso final ofrece un nivel razonable de confianza sobre el destino a largo plazo de los GEI secuestrados).

Al considerar cómo deberían abordar la permanencia los protocolos de créditos de carbono, la Reserva está motivada por el imperativo fundamental de proteger la integridad ambiental, reconociendo al mismo tiempo que el contexto normativo en evolución y el rápido ritmo de innovación en este campo implican que otras formas de abordar la permanencia —desde horizontes alternativos de monitoreo posterior a la emisión hasta distintas herramientas para monitorear proyectos y gestionar reversiones— podrían también proteger la integridad ambiental con rigor y transparencia.

La Reserva está lanzando un programa de trabajo para analizar cómo sus protocolos de créditos de carbono deberían abordar la permanencia. En línea con su enfoque colaborativo, la organización busca aportes de las partes interesadas a través de dos vías:

Opiniones sobre preguntas clave en torno a la permanencia.
Participación en un grupo de trabajo para apoyar el programa.

Enlaces:

Las preguntas pueden dirigirse a: policy@climateactionreserve.org.

One Hundred Years of Permanence?

The Climate Action Reserve is reenvisioning its approach to permanence in its voluntary protocols

By Robin Rix and Jon Remucal, Climate Action Reserve

Since its founding almost 25 years ago, the Climate Action Reserve has advocated for 100-year permanence on the basis of one core principle: if carbon dioxide persists in the atmosphere for 100 years, then a project must sequester it for 100 years in order to receive credits.

The Reserve has enshrined this principle in our program manual, defining permanence as equivalent to the radiative forcing benefits of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for 100 years.

And we have operationalized this principle by requiring project owners to monitor, report, and verify their projects’ carbon stocks—and to compensate for all avoidable reversals, like overharvesting—not just for their full crediting period, but for 100 years beyond it.

In other words, a project with a 100-year crediting period requires a permanence commitment up to 200 years, guaranteed by a contract between the project owner and the Reserve.

Backstopping this commitment, and to cover for unavoidable reversals, like forest fires or disease, is a buffer pool.

Our approach is elegant and simple. But since it was implemented, there have been significant advancements in science, technology, and policy. As we approach our quarter-century mark, it is timely for us to re-think our theory and re-shape our practice..

How we got here

The idea of 100-year permanence has its roots in early IPCC reports, which concluded in the late 1990s and early 2000s—incidentally, the years when the Reserve was formed—that carbon dioxide has an atmospheric lifetime of 50–200 years.

Subsequent IPCC reports evolved, finding in favor of a ‘pulse’ with roughly 50% of carbon dioxide emissions dissipating after several decades but the other 50% remaining for centuries or even millennia.

The carbon crediting sector has responded to the evolving science, though in a broadly bifurcated way.

On one side, calls for measuring permanence in centuries or millennia have grown ever more strident. These voices argue that technological solutions can best provide the deep permanence that the world demands.

In advancing their argument, they at best diminish and at worst dismiss the indisputably indispensable role of nature-based solutions in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which alone are the actions that can be taken at once, at cost, and at scale. Ensuring the continued role of nature-based solutions is, without hyperbole, an existential imperative.

Yet those on the other side need to exercise caution as well. It would be an unwanted consequence if permanence commitments within the sector fall below the standard that IPCC science demands.

Following the science requires the issuance of credits usable for offsetting purposes to match more closely the rate that carbon dioxide dissipates in the atmosphere—or the adoption of significantly more sophisticated models to quantify risk and account for reversals.

How we move forward

Fortunately, the voluntary carbon market is the ideal venue for incubating ideas to advance the theory and practice of permanence. By definition, this is a space that incentivizes and recognizes impacts beyond the scope of what governments require and businesses and landowners already commonly make.

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market’s recent announcement that carbon crediting programs can create a sandbox for innovation in permanence, without risking their status as an approved program, should be praised, as should the blossoming of initiatives of insurance companies, trusts, and others.

For its part, the Reserve is launching a work program aimed at re-envisioning our approach to permanence. Our intention is to interrogate the fundamental assumptions in our current model and to deliver actionable policy changes that uphold high levels of environmental integrity.

Key topics that we’ll be considering include:

The length of the permanence commitment required of all projects;
The length of the monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) commitment on the part of project owners;
The party/parties responsible for compensation in the event of a reversal, both during a project’s MRV commitment period and potentially after if that period is shorter than the overall permanence commitment;
Methods for reducing the risk of reversals throughout the permanence commitment period;
Mechanisms for reversal compensation; and
Mechanisms to ensure monitoring and reversal compensation obligations are fulfilled.

We invite you to participate in our public consultation and/or to apply to join our new workgroup, both open until Friday, October 3.

Scaling climate action is needed now more than ever. Leaning on two of the Reserve’s longstanding hallmarks—collaboration and transparency—we look forward to doing just that through this effort, bringing meaningful changes to elevate the market and more solutions to help the planet.

Robin Rix is the President and Jon Remucal is the Director of Nature-Based Solutions of the Climate Action Reserve.

Published as a commentary in Carbon Pulse on Wednesday, September 3, 2025.

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Infographic: Transparency and public participation are key tenets of the Reserve

Transparency and public engagement are central to the Climate Action Reserve’s mission. We offer multiple ways for you to participate, share input, and help shape our work. Explore our latest infographic to see how you can get involved at every stage of the carbon credit lifecycle, from protocol development to project listing and ongoing engagement.

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Climate Action Reserve US/Canada biochar and Mexico forest protocols endorsed by Integrity Council Governing Board

CCP label ushers in high integrity credits from project types with tremendous opportunity for driving support to nature based and local climate solutions

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Governing Board of the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (Integrity Council) approved the Climate Action Reserve US and Canada Biochar Protocol Version 1.0 as meeting its high-integrity Core Carbon Principles (CCP) and Mexico Forest Protocol Version 3.0 as CCP-approved pending remedial action.

“The Climate Action Reserve welcomes the actions of the Integrity Council to build further confidence in the integrity of carbon credits from these sectors. Biochar in the US and Canada is a first step as we look to expand with further protocols in Mexico, Europe, and elsewhere, and as we’ve directly witnessed from working in the Mexican forestry sector for two decades, building more value in these credits will provide stronger financial support for climate solutions in local communities,” said Robin Rix, President, Climate Action Reserve.

Biochar is produced by heating biomass at high temperatures in a controlled environment with limited oxygen. This end product can lock up carbon and keep it out of the atmosphere for centuries – and potentially millennia – and can provide a number of ancillary benefits for reducing emissions.

The US and Canada Biochar Protocol is the sixth Reserve protocol to receive full CCP approval. It provides guidance for the development of biochar projects in the United States and Canada and on tribal/First Nation lands within each country. Projects divert biomass from its use in “business as usual” situations to instead being heated into biochar.

“Numerous indicators show project developers and buyers view biochar projects as tremendous opportunities. The key is to make sure biochar projects follow transparent, rigorous standards so we can capitalize on this promising climate solution,” said Jon Remucal, Director of Nature-Based Solutions, Climate Action Reserve. “As the Integrity Council’s CCP-approval validates, the Reserve’s US and Canada Biochar Protocol meets this opportunity by providing guidance for developing biochar projects at a high-integrity level.”

The Mexico Forest Protocol provides guidance on the project development and crediting of carbon projects that use trees in Mexico to sequester carbon from the atmosphere. It is an excellent example of the Reserve’s jurisdictional approach to protocol development and the benefits yielded by that approach.

The Integrity Council approved Version 3.0 of the Mexico Forest Protocol as meeting CCP standards with remedial action on leakage. The Reserve is already working on an errata to address the remedial action on leakage. The Governing Board of the Integrity Council will review completion of this remedial action, and once completion is confirmed, credits issued to IFM projects with 40+ years of permanence commitment under the protocol can be tagged as CCP-approved.

“Receiving CCP-approval for credits under the Mexico Forest Protocol is especially appreciated because it further rewards the voluntary actions taken by ejidos and communities in the country. Local communities develop and manage their projects aligned with their communal-governance structures, which require community input and oversight through general assemblies and voting,” said Amy Kessler, Director of Latin America, Climate Action Reserve. “Because the Reserve takes a jurisdictional approach, the Mexico Forest Protocol has taken into account local considerations, regulations and circumstances, including the Agrarian Law and the importance of communities voting permanence commitments into their Assembly Acts.”

For more information on CCP-approved methodologies and programs, please visit https://icvcm.org/assessment-status/.

The Climate Action Reserve is the most trusted, efficient, and experienced offset registry for global carbon markets. A pioneer in carbon accounting, the Reserve promotes and fosters the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through credible market-based policies and solutions. As a high-quality offset registry for voluntary carbon markets, it establishes rigorous standards involving multi-sector stakeholder workgroup development and local engagement and issues carbon credits in a transparent and publicly available system. The organization also supports compliance carbon markets in California, Washington and internationally. The Reserve is an environmental nonprofit organization headquartered in Los Angeles, California with staff members located around the world. For more information, please visit www.climateactionreserve.org.

The Climate Action Reserve is an equal opportunity provider.

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Updated US Nitric Acid Production Protocol provides opportunity for greater positive climate impact in the industrial sector

Version 3.0 of the protocol aims to increase the scale of trusted emission reductions

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Climate Action Reserve Board of Directors adopted version 3.0 of the US Nitric Acid Production Protocol, which provides guidance to account for, report and verify GHG emission reductions achieved from the abatement of nitrous oxide (N2O) at nitric acid production plants. This version of the protocol introduces updates that allow the plants to reduce a larger percentage of N2O emissions at a decreased cost to achieve those reductions.

“When considering impactful climate solutions, the industrial sector should be a prime target. Because nitric acid plants produce such a tremendous volume of industrial gases and those gases have global warming potential hundreds of times greater than CO2, the abatement of those gases presents significant opportunities for addressing climate and environmental issues. The Climate Action Reserve has been a leader in high integrity emission reductions in this sector and is proud to continue on with this role,” said Linda Adams, Chair of the Climate Action Reserve Board of Directors.

The US Nitric Acid Production Protocol was originally adopted by the Reserve Board of Directors in 2009. Since then, the Reserve has issued over 21 million credits, known as Climate Reserve Tonnes (CRTs), for the abatement of N2O, which is a byproduct of nitric acid production. The credits are equivalent to GHG emissions produced from more than 4.8 million gas-powered vehicles driven over one year.

Since the adoption of version 1.0 of the protocol, multiple industry stakeholders requested that the protocol consider combined secondary and tertiary projects. This is the installation of a smaller, less complex tertiary abatement unit that destroys N2O at a different point in the production process and works with the secondary abatement unit already in place. Version 3.0 of the protocol allows for this combination as a third project type, which enables nitric acid plants to achieve 99 percent abatement efficiency at a lower cost. The new protocol version also includes updates addressing eligibility rules, quantifying emission reductions and reporting parameters. Version 3.0 of the protocol was developed with technical support from ClimeCo Corporation.

“The Climate Action Reserve actively engages diverse stakeholders to ensure we are incorporating industry-specific practices. This enables us to update protocols that yield the most climate impact at a level of high integrity. Version 3.0 of the US Nitric Acid Production Protocol is a prime example of this,” said Kristen Gorguinpour, VP Programs, Climate Action Reserve.

To learn more about the US Nitric Acid Production Protocol and other Reserve protocols, please visit: https://climateactionreserve.org/how/protocols/.

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The Climate Action Reserve is the most trusted, efficient, and experienced offset registry for global carbon markets. A pioneer in carbon accounting, the Reserve promotes and fosters thenreduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through credible market-based policies and solutions. As a high-quality offset registry for voluntary carbon markets, it establishes rigorous standards involving multi-sector stakeholder workgroup development and local engagement and issues carbon credits in a transparent and publicly available system. The organization also supports compliance carbon markets in California, Washington and internationally. The Reserve is an environmental nonprofit organization operating virtually with staff located around the world with a support office in Los Angeles, California. For more information, please visit www.climateactionreserve.org. The Climate Action Reserve is an equal opportunity provider.

Summer reading had me a blast

As we head into peak summer, our staff would like to share some recent reads that we found thought-provoking, engaging, and memorable. If you’re still looking for a great book to dive into, we highly recommend these.

Jon Remucal:

The Big Burn by Timothy Egan – A recounting of the massive wildfire in Idaho/Montana at the start of the 20th Century and how it related to the founding of the USFS and the agency’s rapid evolution toward fire prevention.
Fire Weather by John Vaillant – Recommended by Andrea Tuttle, this book tells the tale of the 2016 megafire in and around Fort McMurray in northern Alberta, placing it in the context of the development of petroleum extraction from neighboring oil sands sites and suggesting the fire is a harbinger for a future likely to see more and more enormous and damaging fires.

Amy Kessler:

Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon – It’s based in a fictional world within a matriarchal society where trees can connect us to the magic of the earth and comets deliver the magic of the sky. The book explores politics, societal expectations, and the balance of good and evil (or perhaps just opposing forces), plus dragons and some fierce women fighters.

McKenzie Smith:

Alchemy of Air by Thomas Hager – A fascinating dive into how German scientists Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch developed synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, a breakthrough that helped feed the world, but also enabled modern warfare.

Jordan Mao:

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee – This is a captivating story following four generations of a war-torn family from Korea and their immigration to Japan during WW2. It gave an interesting perspective on immigration and tragedy, but never lost hope.

Rachel Mooney:

Will by Will Smith – Someone on a plane recommended it to me and it was good! The memoir shares a personal and profound insight into Will’s life, from his struggles to successes, with reflections on his identity, motivations, and willpower.

Judy Gallegos:

Babel, or the Necessity of Violence by R. F. Kuang – Ever wonder what happens when magic, translation, and British colonialism collide? Babel is it. It dives into power, identity, and how language can be both a weapon and a lifeline. It’s about finding your voice and standing up when the system is against you. If you like sci fi and themes of dark academia, you might start seeing words a little differently.

Edith Calderon:

The Book of Delights by Ross Gay – This collection of essays about daily events/things/people that brought the author delight over the course of a year is meditative, poetic and often hilarious. The author makes a lot of observations about the natural world and highlights the idea that joy is a form of resistance.

The Reserve is developing an India Nitric Acid Production Protocol. Join us Aug 14 for the protocol development scoping webinar.

The Reserve is kicking off the development of the Chile Landfill Protocol. Join us July 1 for the kickoff webinar.

Infographic: Argentina Landfill Protocol provides rigorous framework for landfill methane destruction projects

The Argentina Landfill Protocol provides a clear and rigorous framework to utilize financial support from the carbon market to curb landfill methane emissions in Argentina.

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New Argentina Landfill Protocol provides avenue for rigorous methane destruction carbon projects

The protocol continues the Climate Action Reserve’s support for climate action in the Global South

LOS ANGELES, CA – Today the Climate Action Reserve Board of Directors adopted the Argentina Landfill Protocol, which provides guidance on the quantification, monitoring, reporting and verification of GHG emission reductions from installing a gas collection and destruction system at landfills in the country. The protocol, which is the Reserve’s second in Argentina, is available for immediate use and continues the organization’s support of high integrity climate action through emissions removals and reductions in the Global South.

“The Climate Action Reserve has pioneered the standardized, jurisdictional approach for carbon project standards, especially for methane and other gas collection and destruction systems in the country. The organization researches and considers numerous local factors to produce a protocol that considers the unique circumstances, environment and communities of the jurisdiction, and we are extremely appreciative for the support and input from the Ministry of the Environment and Circular Economy of the Province of Córdoba and other local stakeholders in the development of this protocol,” said Linda Adams, Chair of the Climate Action Reserve Board of Directors.

“The Argentina Landfill Protocol gives landfill operators and provinces a clear, credible framework to measure and curb methane emissions. By translating solid data into verifiable carbon credits, it can unlock financing and strengthen the business case for the new investments our waste sector urgently needs, helping us stay on track toward our climate goals,” said Pablo Gabutti, Secretary of Energy Transition, Province of Córdoba.

“The Argentina Landfill Protocol provides an opportunity for qualifying landfills to utilize financial support from the carbon market to improve their own practices while taking action to address climate change and its impact. The protocol is an excellent tool for mobilizing finance for climate action in the Global South, and the Climate Action Reserve will continue to support this incentive for investment in the region,” said Robin Rix, President of the Climate Action Reserve.

According to a report produced under support from the UNEP Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, 24.5 percent of the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in Argentina is disposed of in open-air dump sites, while 9.9 percent of MSW is disposed of in controlled dumps and 65.6 percent in landfills. Waste from open landfills vents methane into the atmosphere, which creates a significant and challenging issue for communities and supports the progression of climate change. The option to generate carbon credits for capturing and destroying the methane provides incentive for landfill operators to change the management of their landfills, and the Argentina Landfill Protocol provides tailored, clear guidance on how to do this with rigor and high integrity.

Like all Reserve protocols, the Argentina Landfill Protocol was developed through the Reserve’s signature transparent, multi-stakeholder, and public process involving an expert workgroup comprised of members with diverse perspectives and areas of expertise, engagement with local communities, public comment and response, and public posting of all protocol development meetings and materials.

In developing this protocol, Argentina’s laws, regulations and common practice for landfills were evaluated and considered. Also evaluated was the need for applicable safeguards.

To learn more about the Argentina Landfill Protocol and other Reserve protocols, please visit: https://climateactionreserve.org/how/protocols/.