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The Gold Standard (GS), orGold Standard for the Global Goals, is astandard and logocertification mark program, for non-governmental emission reductions projects in theClean Development Mechanism (CDM), theVoluntary Carbon Market and other climate and development interventions. It is published and administered by the Gold Standard Foundation, a non-profit foundation headquartered inGeneva, Switzerland. It was designed with an intent to ensure that carbon credits are real, verifiable, and that projects make measurable contributions to sustainable development. The objective of the GS is to add branding, with a quality label, tocarbon credits[1] generated by projects which can then be bought and traded by countries that have a binding legal commitment according to theKyoto Protocol, businesses, or other organizations for carbon offsetting purposes.
The Gold Standard for CDM (GS-CER) was developed in 2003 byWorld Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), South-North, and Helio International.The Voluntary Gold Standard (GS-VER), a standard for use within thevoluntary carbon market, was launched in May 2006.[2] The programs were created following a 12-month consultation period that included workshops and web-based consultation conducted by an independent standard advisory board composed of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), scientists, project developers and government representatives.
As of October 2018, more than 80 non-profit organizations internationally had officially endorsed the Gold Standard program.[3]
The program is administered by the Gold Standard Foundation, a non-profit foundation underSwiss law that is headquartered inGeneva, Switzerland.[4] It also employs local experts inBrazil,India, andSouth Africa.
In July 2008, the Gold Standard Version 2.0 was released, including sets of guidelines and manuals on the GS requirements, toolkits, and other supporting documents to be used by project developers and DOEs. This relegated the previously applicable manuals to Version 1.0. The Version 2.0 also supportsProgram of Activities (PoA).
In July 2017, a new version called the Gold Standard for the Global Goals was released, superseding the previous Gold Standards.[5]
In June 2024 Gold Standard released a Public Carbon Regulations tracker, commissioned bySouth Pole to increase visibility on regulations across continents for project developers.[6]
The Gold Standard is recognized bycarbon market andscholars of carbon markets and climate change politics scholars as a prime example of voluntary standards.[7] As a program certifyingemissions trading programs, criticisms of the general practice of emissions trading may also generally apply to the Gold Standard certification program.[8]
To be eligible for Gold Standard Certification, a project must:
Status of projects that apply for Gold Standard can be tracked on its registry.[10] Project Developers, Designated Operational Entities (DOEs) (also known as Validators), Traders and Buyers of credits can open accounts with the registry. There are various publicly available reports.
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