ACR launches Innovative Registry Infrastructure for Removal Credits
April 18, 2022 – The American Carbon Registry (ACR), a nonprofit enterprise of Winrock International, has pioneered new registry functionality to label credits verified as removals for project types including afforestation/reforestation (A/R), Improved Forest Management (IFM) and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS).
The announcement coincides with the publication of a first-of-its-kind, industry-leading approach for distinguishing verified carbon removal credits from emission reduction credits under its Improved Forest Management methodology.
New Registry Functionality
In addition to labeling pure removals credits, such as those from A/R projects, the new registry functionality also allows project types such as IFM and CCS that can generate both emission reductions and removals to distinguish between the two upon credit issuance. ACR has incorporated verifiable quantification into the methodologies.
“We are excited for the launch of the innovative ACR registry logic to label removals,” stated Lauren Nichols, ACR Managing Director. “We need both high quality emission reductions and removals at scale to achieve Paris Agreement targets. The market has been seeking transparent solutions to differentiate between the two, which is what ACR is now the first to offer.”
For IFM projects, credits that are attributed to growth under the new approach may now be tagged as a removal on the ACR registry including all future issuances of IFM projects using the ACR’s IFM methodology version 1.3 and the forthcoming version 2.0.
Approach for IFM Removals
For IFM projects, removal credits represent emissions pulled from the atmosphere and sequestered in new growth within the project area, whereas reduction credits represent emissions that have been prevented from entering the atmosphere through changes in management practices, such as reducing harvest levels.
“We’re proud to be the first independent, non-profit entity providing a registry platform for the issuance, trading, and retirement of removal credits from IFM projects,” said Kurt Krapfl, the Director of Forestry at ACR. “As carbon markets continue to grow, organizations are thinking about how both removal and reduction credits fit into their climate strategies, and we are happy to now differentiate these benefits so they can make informed decisions on what best fits their needs.”
IFM projects benefit the atmosphere by both removing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it long-term in trees, as well as by reducing emissions associated with harvesting. Until now, there was no consistent, transparent, verifiable, and public way to distinguish these benefits for buyers.