akar.earthCCP: Definition
What are the CCPs (Core Carbon Principles)? The ICVCM's ten integrity principles for high-quality carbon credits, and what they mean for forest projects.
CCP stands for Core Carbon Principles, the ten principles set by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) that define a high-integrity carbon credit. They cover how programs are governed, whether credits represent real emissions impact, and whether projects respect people and nature.
Why it matters
Before the CCPs, buyers had no shared benchmark for credit quality. The CCPs give one. Credits that meet them can carry the CCP label, which buyers, ratings and claims frameworks such as VCMI increasingly reference. For project developers, choosing a CCP-Approved methodology is becoming a basic market expectation.
The ten principles
- Governance: effective governance; tracking; transparency; robust independent third-party validation and verification.
- Emissions impact: additionality; permanence; robust quantification of emission reductions and removals; no double counting.
- Sustainable development: sustainable development benefits and safeguards; contribution toward net-zero transition.
Each principle has detailed assessment criteria in the ICVCM Assessment Framework. See ICVCM Core Carbon Principles.
How it is applied
The ICVCM assesses carbon-crediting programs against the governance principles (making them CCP-Eligible) and methodology categories against the emissions and sustainable development principles (making them CCP-Approved). The research behind this site found the ICVCM status tables listing 13 eligible programs and 45 approved methodologies at the time of review; check the ICVCM site for current numbers.
Indonesia and Southeast Asia angle
Indonesian REDD+, ARR, mangrove and peat projects need to check whether their methodology and version are CCP-Approved. Older REDD+ methodologies face more scrutiny than newer ones such as VM0048. Projects selling into IDXCarbon or under Article 6 have separate national requirements, but the CCPs shape what international buyers will pay.
The principles do not replace standards. They sit above them, and programs such as Verra or Gold Standard still set the detailed rules projects follow.
Common mistakes
- Saying a project “meets the CCPs” without the label being granted.
- Assuming every version of a methodology carries approval.
See the ICVCM entry and our standards hub.
Frequently asked questions
How many Core Carbon Principles are there?
Ten, grouped under governance, emissions impact and sustainable development.
Can a single project be CCP-approved?
Not directly. The ICVCM assesses programs and methodology categories. Credits get the CCP label when they come from a CCP-Approved methodology under a CCP-Eligible program.