ICVCM Strengthens Carbon Credit Integrity with New Clean Cookstove Standards

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) has approved three new clean cookstove methodologies, introducing stricter requirements to enhance credibility and prevent over-crediting. The decision aims to reinforce confidence in carbon finance while ensuring tangible environmental and social benefits from clean cooking projects.

Clean cookstove initiatives play a vital role in reducing emissions by replacing high-pollution fuels such as coal and kerosene with cleaner alternatives. However, concerns over inflated impact claims have led to increased scrutiny. The new methodologies impose rigorous standards for measuring baseline fuel use and monitoring cookstove adoption, helping to eliminate inaccuracies in emissions calculations.

ICVCM’s approval includes the following methodologies:
– Gold Standard – Metered & Measured Energy Cooking Devices v1-1.2
– Gold Standard – Reduced Emissions from Cooking and Heating (TPDDTEC) v4.0
– Verra (VCS) – VM0050 – Energy Efficiency and Fuel-Switch Measures in Cookstoves v1.0

These updated approaches mandate the use of the MoFuSS model or a conservative default biomass fraction (fNRB ≤ 0.3) for emissions calculations. They also require fuel consumption monitoring through Kitchen Performance Tests (KPTs) or Controlled Cooking Tests (CCTs) and enforce stricter conversion factors for charcoal-based cooking. By reducing the overestimation of emissions reductions, the new methodologies will significantly lower the average fNRB rate in the voluntary carbon market, ensuring credits more accurately reflect real-world impact.

ICVCM’s move is expected to prompt a wave of project updates, with hundreds of thousands of carbon credits anticipated under the new standards. Additionally, the council rejected four outdated methodologies that failed to meet its stringent quantification requirements. Annette Nazareth, Chair of ICVCM, emphasized the importance of these changes, stating that the updates will help direct carbon finance into projects that drive sustainable development while maintaining market integrity.