By Warren Reed

In Spring 2026, ACR published a new Framework for Remotely Sensed Quantification of Forest Carbon. The Framework fulfills a longtime market need for a transparent, scientifically based benchmark against which the efficacy of remotely sensed forest carbon estimates can be assessed. As the technology continues to advance, forest carbon projects listed with ACR now have a way of integrating remote sensing into project development, monitoring and verification.

In carbon markets, quality leads to results at scale. This Framework puts quality at the forefront, with a few important goals in mind:

1. Results over method. There are many ways of leveraging remote sensing to derive an estimate of forest carbon. ACR saw no need to create barriers to entry by being overly prescriptive on how estimates are made. Rather, we set benchmarks  for accuracy and uncertainty against which we can directly compare results. If a remote sensing approach meets or exceeds the benchmarks, it can be used.
2. Scale matters. Forests are diverse and the accuracy of remote sensing estimates vary by circumstance. As a registry we have a portfolio of forest carbon projects that spans biomes. Assessing remote sensing models at the scale at which they are utilized ensures project-specific quality and rigor.
3. Efficiencies lead to impact. Remotely sensed technologies offer great potential to increase accessibility to the carbon market. Leveraging remotely sensed estimates of forest carbon has potential to lower the barrier to entry and lead to higher rates of development of forest carbon projects using ACR methodologies.

As reliance on tech-based carbon measurement and estimation techniques advance, ACR and the carbon market need reliable assurance of their accuracy. The ACR Framework validates remotely sensed forest carbon estimates against a sub-set of field plots, setting a known and transparent benchmark for quality that aligns with market expectations.

Under the ACR Framework, quality remains front and center.

Credits from the Standard for the Transformation of the Electric Power Sector (STEPS) are eligible for CORSIA, marking the first eligible jurisdictional credits beyond REDD+

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—Internationally recognized carbon crediting program ACR, a nonprofit enterprise of Winrock International, announces the finding of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) that units generated under the Standard for the Transformation of the Electric Power Sector (STEPS) are consistent with ACR’s existing ICAO approval, thus extending the scope of eligibility of ACR-issued credits for compliance under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) to include STEPS Credits. This is significant as it marks the first CORSIA Eligibility determination of a sectoral carbon crediting approach beyond the landmark approval of jurisdictional REDD+ in 2020. ACR will manage the implementation of STEPS alongside ACR’s existing project-based crediting program, which focuses on forestry, super pollutants and CCS.

STEPS is a first-of-a-kind jurisdictional-scale, sector-wide carbon crediting standard that aims to incentivize host country investment, planning and policies to deliver long-term structural changes necessary for electric power sector emissions to peak sooner and decline faster to meet Paris Agreement temperature targets. STEPS’ goal is to catalyze large-scale investment needed to achieve the clean energy transition, while ensuring energy equity and energy security. 

The CORSIA Eligibility of STEPS Credits signals an important milestone for ICAO’s global compliance carbon market to support accelerating the energy transition. The International Energy Agency (IEA) indicates that clean energy investment in developing and emerging economies, excluding China, must increase seven-fold to $1.9 trillion a year by the early 2030s to keep a 1.5°C limit on warming within reach and avert catastrophic climate impacts on communities worldwide. 

“We applaud the news that ACR’s scope of CORSIA Eligible credits now includes STEPS Credits, as consistent with ICAO’s Emissions Unit Criteria,” said Mary Grady, Executive Director of ACR. “The energy transition is a massive emissions mitigation opportunity that requires access to finance at scale to deliver Paris Agreement-aligned results. Sector-level crediting can mobilize capital at the scale needed to support investments in grid expansion and storage infrastructure, as well as concessionary finance to address the needs of communities and workers affected by the transition from fossil fuels. We look forward to working with governments to implement STEPS and are encouraged that ACR is able to advance the potential to attract critical climate finance to meet the challenges of power sector decarbonization while ensuring economic development, energy security and energy access.” 

ICAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that manages the standards that govern international aviation. In 2016 ICAO approved CORSIA as a global market-based mechanism to achieve carbon-neutral growth in international aviation starting in 2020. ACR is among the ten global carbon crediting programs approved by ICAO to supply offset credits for CORSIA’s 2024-2026 phase and among only four currently approved to supply credits for the 2027-2029 phase.

For more on STEPS, visit https://www.stepsclimate.org/.

ACR’s Improved Forest Management (IFM) on Non-Federal U.S. Forestlands methodology version 2.0 has earned Core Carbon Principles (CCP) approval from the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) in the latest round of methodology assessments.

ACR IFM 2.0 credits eligible for the CCP label include removals credits and emission reduction credits quantified using ACR’s Tool for Dynamic Evaluation of Baselines. The CCP label will soon become active for 2.7 million eligible IFM 2.0 credits in the ACR Registry.

ACR’s Afforestation and Reforestation of Degraded Lands (ARR) methodology earned CCP approval in July 2025, and ACR’s IFM on Non-Federal U.S. Forestlands version 2.1 earned CCP approval in August 2025. ACR’s IFM on Non-Federal U.S. Forestlands v1.3, IFM on Small Non-Industrial Private Forestlands v1.0, and Active Conservation and Sustainable Management on U.S. Forestlands v1.0 methodologies are still under assessment.

ACR views the most recent CCP approval as a step forward in the ICVCM process and we will continue to engage with ICVCM throughout their assessment process with the intent of securing CCP-Approved labels across our portfolio of active methodologies, which includes emission reductions and removals from nature-based and industrial solutions.

ICVCM approved ACR at the program level as “Core Carbon Principles (CCP) Eligible” in April 2024. To become approved, ACR submitted an extensive application to ICVCM for assessment. We provided evidence of being a CORSIA Eligible Emissions Unit Program, in addition to meeting the CCP’s criteria around effective governance, credit tracking, transparency, and robust, independent third-party validation and verification.

Since its founding in 1996 as the world’s first private greenhouse gas registry, ACR has innovated and operationalized key elements of carbon credit quality assurance, including scientific peer-reviewed accounting methodologies and well-accepted approaches to address additionality, leakage, and reversal risk mitigation; oversight of independent third-party verification; and operation of a transparent registry for the issuance and tracking of serialized credits.

ACR’s approach to program quality has earned approval to issue credits for use in regulated carbon markets, including the State of California’s Cap-and-Trade Program, the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), the State of Washington’s Cap-and-Invest Program, and towards compliance with Singapore’s Carbon Pricing Act.

Alongside ACR’s approval in global compliance markets, we expect the ICVCM’s CCP label to provide further confidence to buyers in credit quality and allow finance to flow to impactful climate solutions to support the goals of the Paris Agreement. The urgency of climate change demands nothing less.

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Approval demonstrates that ACR meets the high bar for quality in the global aviation carbon market

LITTLE ROCK, ARK – ACR is pleased to announce that at its October 2025 session, the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the United Nations’ main aviation body, approved ACR to supply carbon credits for the Second Phase of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), covering the period 2027–2029.

The decision confirms that all of ACR’s active methodologies are eligible to supply credits for use in CORSIA’s Second Phase. This latest approval builds on ICAO’s previous decisions to recognize ACR-issued credits for CORSIA’s Pilot Phase (2021–2023) and First Phase (2024–2026). 

“We are proud that ACR has once again successfully completed a thorough review of our program requirements and oversight and that ICAO has approved ACR-issued credits for use in both CORSIA’s First and now Second Phase,” said Mary Grady, Executive Director of ACR. “ICAO’s most recent approval reflects our ongoing alignment with Paris Agreement rules and ICAO requirements in a rapidly evolving market landscape.”  

ICAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that manages the standards that govern international aviation. In 2016, ICAO approved the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) as a global market-based mechanism to achieve carbon-neutral growth in international aviation starting in 2020. Demand for CORSIA Eligible offset credits is expected to be 1.5 billion tons of CO2-e through 2035.

More on ACR and CORSIA here.

ACR credits issued to projects under Version 2.1 of the methodology now eligible for CCP-Approved Label.

ACR’s Improved Forest Management (IFM) on Non-Federal U.S. Forestlands methodology has earned Core Carbon Principles (CCP) approval from the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) in the latest round of methodology assessments. Carbon credits issued to projects under Version 2.1 of the methodology are eligible for CCP-Approved status.

The CCP label is active in the ACR Registry. While ACR has not yet issued credits to projects under IFM version 2.1, there are 18 projects listed under this version, covering nearly 500,000 acres of forestland. Earlier versions of ACR’s Improved Forest Management methodology are still under assessment. 

While ACR views this as an important step forward, we will continue to engage with ICVCM throughout their assessment process with the intent of securing CCP-Approved labels across our portfolio of active methodologies, which includes emission reductions and removals from nature-based and industrial solutions.

ICVCM approved ACR at the program level as “Core Carbon Principles (CCP) Eligible” in April 2024. To become approved, ACR submitted an extensive application to ICVCM for assessment. We provided evidence of being a CORSIA Eligible Emissions Unit Program, in addition to meeting the CCP’s criteria around effective governance, credit tracking, transparency, and robust, independent third-party validation and verification. 

Since its founding in 1996 as the world’s first private greenhouse gas registry, ACR has innovated and operationalized key elements of carbon credit quality assurance, including scientific peer-reviewed accounting methodologies and well-accepted approaches to address additionality, leakage, and reversal risk mitigation; oversight of independent third-party verification; and operation of a transparent registry for the issuance and tracking of serialized credits.

ACR’s approach to program quality has earned approval to issue credits for use in regulated carbon markets, including the State of California’s Cap-and-Trade Program, the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), the State of Washington’s Cap-and-Invest Program, and towards compliance with Singapore’s Carbon Pricing Act. 

Alongside ACR’s approval in global compliance markets, we expect the ICVCM’s CCP label to provide further confidence to buyers in credit quality and allow finance to flow to impactful climate solutions to support the goals of the Paris Agreement. The urgency of climate change demands nothing less.

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ACR is an internationally recognized carbon crediting program that operates in global compliance and voluntary carbon markets. A nonprofit enterprise of Winrock International, ACR was founded in 1996 as the first private greenhouse gas (GHG) registry in the world with the mission of harnessing the power of markets to improve the environment. Learn more at ACRclimate.org.

ACR credits issued to projects for natural forest establishment and restoration activities now eligible for CCP-Approved Label

ACR’s Afforestation and Reforestation of Degraded Lands (ARR) methodology has earned Core Carbon Principle (CCP) approval from the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) in the latest round of methodology assessments. Carbon credits issued to projects under the methodology are eligible for CCP-Approved status.

The CCP label is active in the ACR Registry. For the ARR methodology, it is applied to credits issued to projects verified for conformance that plant native species on degraded lands to sequester carbon and contribute to an ecosystem with broad environmental benefits and avoid potential negative impacts. All credits issued to date under the ARR methodology meet the criteria and requirements for CCP-approval and will be labeled as such. This is a total of 7,792,791 credits, including those that have been retired prior to the CCP Approval Decision.

While ACR views this as an important step forward, we will continue to engage with ICVCM throughout their assessment process with the intent of securing CCP-Approved labels across our portfolio of active methodologies, which includes emission reductions and removals from industrial and nature-based solutions.

ICVCM approved ACR at the program level as “Core Carbon Principles (CCP) Eligible” in April 2024. To become approved, ACR submitted an extensive application to ICVCM for assessment. We provided evidence of being a CORSIA Eligible Emissions Unit Program, in addition to meeting the CCP’s criteria around effective governance, credit tracking, transparency, and robust, independent third-party validation and verification.

Since its founding in 1996 as the world’s first private greenhouse gas registry, ACR has innovated and operationalized key elements of carbon credit quality assurance, including scientific peer-reviewed accounting methodologies and well-accepted approaches to address additionality, leakage, and reversal risk mitigation; oversight of independent third-party verification; and operation of a transparent registry for the issuance and tracking of serialized credits.

ACR’s approach to program quality has earned approval to issue credits for use in regulated carbon markets, including the State of California’s Cap-and-Trade Program, the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), the State of Washington’s Cap-and-Invest Program, and towards compliance with Singapore’s Carbon Pricing Act.

ACR expects additional methodologies to earn ICVCM approval, which will provide confidence to buyers in credit quality and allow finance to flow to impactful climate solutions to support the goals of the Paris Agreement. The urgency of climate change demands nothing less.

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When published in May 2023, the ACR Plugging Orphaned Oil and Gas Wells Methodology (version 1.0) (“OOG Methodology”) was the world’s first focused on plugging orphaned oil and gas (OOG) wells in the United States and Canada. In the U.S. alone, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates methane emissions from abandoned wells (of which orphaned wells are a subset) to be at least 7 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent annually, which is likely an underestimate. Over 120,000 orphaned wells have been documented across 30 states in the U.S., and estimates of additional undocumented orphaned wells range as high as several million across the country.

The OOG Methodology is a high priority for ACR given the number of OOG wells, their negative social and environmental impacts, and the woefully inadequate funding available to plug them. The OOG Methodology has already delivered significant carbon market finance to address the crisis and meaningful climate impact through the reduction of methane emissions.

In its normal course of business ACR regularly inactivates and updates its methodologies to incorporate new data and lessons from implementation. Effective May 9, 2025, ACR has made version 1.0 of the OOG Methodology inactive to update requirements to ensure consistent and appropriate application across diverse project sites and wells and to avoid delays in verification.

ACR will work with trusted partners and industry experts to update the OOG Methodology to version 2.0 following ACR’s methodology update process, which includes a public comment period and scientific peer review. Publication of an updated version is planned for 2026. The collective experience from over two years of project development, implementation, validation, verification, and credit issuance across a broad OOG landscape provides valuable insights to ensure the OOG Methodology can be scaled to realize its full potential and ongoing climate impact.

The OOG Methodology update does not impact projects that have already been verified or credits that have already been issued. In addition, projects that have approved Methane Measurement Method Approval Forms (MMMAFs) may complete the verification process under version 1.0 of the OOG Methodology.

ACR will continue to accept new project listings until publication of the updated version. New projects, as well as currently listed projects that do not have an approved MMMAF, must be validated and verified for conformance with the updated version 2.0 of the OOG Methodology.

ICE Plans Mid-2026 Launch of Environmental Registry Services to Bring State-of-the-Art Infrastructure to Carbon Markets

ATLANTA — Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), a leading global provider of technology and data, and the world’s largest operator of environmental derivatives markets, today announced plans to launch an environmental registry technology service to bring best in class infrastructure to registries and registry users and support the adoption of carbon credits as an asset class. ICE’s service, called ICE GreenTrace™, is expected to launch in the late spring of 2026 and is designed to support registries and registry users across the life cycle of a carbon credit.

Launch partner, Winrock International’s Environmental Resources Trust (ERT), will use ICE’s registry technology service for its world-leading crediting programs: ACR, the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) and the new sectoral crediting standard in development for the Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA).

ERT launched ACR, formerly the American Carbon Registry, in 1996 as the world’s first private greenhouse gas registry. ART was established in 2018 as the first market-based initiative to incentivize the protection and restoration of tropical forests at scale, also known as jurisdictional REDD+. ERT was selected in 2023 by the ETA Founding Partners to develop and pilot the carbon crediting standard for the ETA to accelerate a clean power transition in emerging and developing economies.

“The ICE registry platform is a leap forward for the technology infrastructure underpinning global carbon markets, providing powerful next-generation digital functionality to all registry users to enhance efficiency and market integration,” said Mary Grady, CEO of Environmental Resources Trust. “Bringing nearly 30 years of carbon market experience to our role as ICE’s launch partner, we are excited to join forces with an industry leader to deliver a transformational platform that supports the market growth required to achieve global climate goals.”

“Building on more than two decades of expertise in analogue to digital transformations across multiple asset classes, ICE now plans to deliver mission-critical infrastructure to the carbon credit market. We selected ERT as our launch partner based on their reputation for excellence, longstanding support of carbon markets, and commitment to a market infrastructure transformation,” said Gordon Bennett, Global Head of Environmental Markets at ICE. “ICE’s technology will bring unparalleled financial market infrastructure to allow customers to more confidently invest in and manage carbon assets at a time when transparency and trust are vital for scaling carbon credit markets.”

Since its inception, ICE has built a global digital network connecting energy and environmental market participants to the tools needed to mitigate risk, achieve compliance, and invest, all within a secure, highly regulated, and transparent operational framework. Today, ICE is home to the most liquid venues in the world to trade energy and environmental derivatives. In 2024, a record 20.4 million environmental contracts traded on ICE, equivalent to over $1 trillion in notional value for the fourth consecutive year with more than $50 billion physically delivered to multiple registries.

To find out more information about ICE’s environmental registry services or to be kept updated on progress, please contact GreenTrace@ICE.com.

About Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE) is a Fortune 500 company that designs, builds and operates digital networks that connect people to opportunity. We provide financial technology and data services across major asset classes helping our customers access mission-critical workflow tools that increase transparency and efficiency. ICE’s futures, equity, and options exchanges – including the New York Stock Exchange – and clearing houses help people invest, raise capital and manage risk. We offer some of the world’s largest markets to trade and clear energy and environmental products. Our fixed income, data services and execution capabilities provide information, analytics and platforms that help our customers streamline processes and capitalize on opportunities. At ICE Mortgage Technology, we are transforming U.S. housing finance, from initial consumer engagement through loan production, closing, registration and the long-term servicing relationship. Together, ICE transforms, streamlines and automates industries to connect our customers to opportunity.

Trademarks of ICE and/or its affiliates include Intercontinental Exchange, ICE, ICE block design, NYSE and New York Stock Exchange. Information regarding additional trademarks and intellectual property rights of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. and/or its affiliates is located here. Key Information Documents for certain products covered by the EU Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products Regulation can be accessed on the relevant exchange website under the heading “Key Information Documents (KIDS).”

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 – Statements in this press release regarding ICE’s business that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see ICE’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors in ICE’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, as filed with the SEC on February 8, 2024.

About Environmental Resources Trust

Environmental Resources Trust (ERT), a nonprofit enterprise of Winrock International, offers trusted solutions to environmental markets to catalyze transformational climate impacts. With the mission of harnessing the power of markets to improve the environment, ERT operates internationally recognized carbon crediting programs, ACR and the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART). Founded in 1996 as the world’s first private carbon registry, ACR has extensive operational experience in global compliance and voluntary carbon markets, having issued over 300 million high-quality, verified CO2 emission reduction and removals credits. ART is the leading global carbon market initiative for jurisdictional REDD+, ensuring the social and environmental integrity of climate results from protecting and restoring forests at scale. ART’s growing pipeline of participating jurisdictions currently includes over two dozen governments on five continents covering 400 million hectares of tropical forests. ERT is also developing the sectoral carbon crediting standard for the Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA), with the goal of incentivizing steeper and more rapid decarbonization of the electric power sector in emerging and developing economies. The ETA is an innovative carbon finance platform launched in 2023 by the U.S. Department of State, Bezos Earth Fund and the Rockefeller Foundation.