Verified Carbon Standard

The Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), formerly the Voluntary Carbon Standard, is a standard for certifying carbon credits to offset emissions. VCS is administered by Verra, a 501(c)(3) organization. Verra is the world's biggest certifier of voluntary carbon offsets. As of 2020 there were over 1,500 certified VCS projects covering energy, transport, waste, forestry, and other sectors. In 2021 Verra issued 300 MtCO2e worth of offset credits for 110 projects. There are also specific methodologies for REDD+ projects. Verra is the program of choice for most of the forest credits in the voluntary market, and almost all REDD+ projects.

Verra was developed in 2005 when the company Climate Wedge and its partner Cheyne Capital designed and drafted the first version (version 1.0) of the Voluntary Carbon Standard. This standard was intended as a quality standard for transacting and developing "non-Kyoto" Protocol carbon credits. Climate Wedge was at the time active as a carbon markets investment advisory firm.

There are controversies around this standard and how it is implemented. In 2023, an investigation by The Guardian, Die Zeit, and SourceMaterial (a non-profit investigative journalism outlet) found that about 94% of the rainforest carbon offsets certified by Verra are worthless. The investigation even found that the standard may in fact worsen climate change: "Investigation into Verra carbon standard finds most are ‘phantom credits’ and may worsen global heating". In May 2023, following months of criticism towards Verra in its handling of carbon-offsetting, CEO David Antonioli resigned.

Development
In 2005, carbon markets investment advisory firm Climate Wedge and its partner Cheyne Capital designed and drafted the first version (version 1.0) of the Voluntary Carbon Standard, intended as a quality standard for transacting and developing "non-Kyoto" Protocol carbon credits. Those were voluntary carbon emissions reductions from greenhouse gas reduction projects that met the quality and verification standards of the UNFCCC Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) carbon offset mechanism, but were not eligible. The reasons for being not eligible were due to geographic or timing constraints of the Kyoto rulebook (e.g. carbon offset projects in the USA, Hong Kong, Turkey, etc that were not eligible for the CDM).

In March 2006, Climate Wedge and Cheyne Capital transferred the Voluntary Carbon Standard version 1.0 to The Climate Group, International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) and World Economic Forum. They also provided the initial sponsor capital for these non-profit organizations to subsequently convene a team of global carbon market experts to further draft the VCS requirements. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) joined later on. The team later formed the VCS Steering Committee, which worked to draft the second and subsequent versions of the VCS Standard.

In 2008, the Board of Directors named David Antonioli the organization’s first Chief Executive Officer. In 2009, VCS incorporated in Washington D.C. as a non-profit non-governmental organization.

On February 15, 2018, the organization that maintains the Verified Carbon Standard changed its name from Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) to Verra. The new name was chosen to suggest "‘verification’ and ‘terra’, and reflects the fundamental nature of our work".

In May 2023, following months of criticism towards Verra in its handling of carbon-offsetting, CEO David Antonioli resigned.

Controversies
A 2021 study by The Guardian newspaper and Unearthed reported that Verra’s carbon offsetting standard was flawed. Accredited forest protection projects were using inconsistent predictive methods and overstating their emissions reductions. 11 of the 12 projects studied showed no difference in emissions compared to control groups. The study said the findings raised doubts about the validity of the carbon offsetting market.

A nine-month investigation published on January 18, 2023 by The Guardian, Die Zeit, and SourceMaterial, a non-profit investigative journalism organization, found that approximately 94% of the rainforest carbon offsets provided by Verra –  which accounted for about 40% of all credits it approved – are worthless. They also found that the credit scheme may worsen global heating and that the deforestation threat for Verra projects was overstated by 400% on average. At one of Verra's project sites in Peru, residents complained about being forcefully evicted from their homes, which were then demolished. The investigation was based on two peer-reviewed studies, one by a group of University of Cambridge scientists and the other from a team of international researchers.

In 2024, a Channel 4 documentary highlighted these concerns alongside claims from Human Rights Watch that it was investigating a Verra carbon reduction project where Indigenous Cambodians lived in fear of homes and farmland being destroyed by armed rangers.