Isometric will be hosting a webinar on April 14 to walk through the key updates in Version 2.0 and what they mean for suppliers. Register to attend.
Version 2.0 of the Isometric Standard has been certified following a public consultation. The update expands the Standard's scope to cover superpollutant emission reductions, refines the buffer pool framework for open-system pathways, extends default crediting periods, and formalizes how protocol versions apply to projects over time.
Expanding into superpollutant reductions
Version 2.0 formally expands the Standard's scope to cover emission reduction activities alongside carbon removal. Each emission reduction credit Isometric issues represents one net metric tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent prevented from reaching the atmosphere from an existing source of greenhouse gas emissions.
This expansion brings superpollutant pathways into scope for the first time. Isometric's Landfill Methane Flaring and Utilization and HFC and ODS Recovery and Destruction protocols are the first to operate under this expanded scope, with more pathways to follow.
Updating the buffer pool
When Isometric issues a carbon removal credit, there is a risk that the removed carbon dioxide could later escape back into the atmosphere—known as a reversal. To protect against this, Isometric holds a portion of each project's issued credits in a buffer pool. If a reversal occurs, credits are cancelled from that pool to maintain the integrity of credits delivered to buyers.
However, for open-system pathways like Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement, Enhanced Weathering, and Biochar, there is no plausible mechanism by which the carbon dioxide they remove can return to the atmosphere. Once a weathering feedstock has dissolved into the soil or a body of water, or biochar has been incorporated into soil, the carbon is stable—so there is no reversal risk for a buffer pool to protect against.
Version 2.0 removes the buffer pool requirement for open-system pathways while continuing to mitigate the risk of overcrediting through uncertainty discounts—which reduce the number of credits issued upfront to account for any uncertainties in carbon removal quantification. Suppliers in these pathways that have been issued credits by Isometric will have their existing buffer pool credits returned to them at their next verification.
Buffer pool requirements have also been removed for projects operating under robust regulatory schemes that already require equivalent protections. This includes projects operating under the European Union's CCS Directive.
Extending crediting periods
A crediting period is the window of time over which a project can generate and issue carbon removal credits following validation. Under Version 2.0, default crediting periods have been extended from five to 10 years, and to 15 years for Direct Air Capture and Biogenic Carbon Capture and Storage projects. Crediting periods for nature-based projects will continue to be set on a case-by-case basis.
Longer crediting periods give suppliers the stability to plan for the long term, secure investment, and focus on scaling their projects. The extension to 15 years for Direct Air Capture and Bio-CCS reflects the infrastructure investments these projects require and the long operational lifetimes of the assets involved. Projects can revalidate at the end of their crediting period if they wish to continue issuing credits.
Simplifying protocol versions
When a supplier begins registering a project with Isometric, the version of the protocol they are registering against now locks. This means the requirements a supplier signs up to at the start of registration are the requirements that apply for the duration of their crediting period—giving suppliers certainty that the rules won't change mid-project.
Projects are not required to adopt new protocol versions until they seek to revalidate at the end of their crediting period. Suppliers can, however, choose to voluntarily adopt newer versions, which typically introduce support for new technologies, storage pathways, or durability options. Minor corrections and clarifications continue to take effect automatically and, in exceptional circumstances, Isometric can require mandatory version adoption—such as when a substantive vulnerability is discovered.
Register for Isometric's webinar on April 14 to find out more.
