Several carbon projects in China are under scrutiny over alleged irregularities in government approval documents, prompting standards body Verra to reject four projects and launch reviews into dozens of others.
Verra said the four projects were rejected after their validation and verification bodies (VVBs) were unable to confirm that the relevant Chinese authorities had authorised the activities, or that the approval documents submitted by the project developer, Guizhou Baiheng Fertiliser Co., Ltd., were authentic. The decision followed the completion of Verra’s quality control reviews (QCRs).
Under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Programme, all registered projects must comply with local laws. In China, Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) projects are required to secure government approvals and demonstrate compliance with national land use and forestry regulations.
Verra said it has contacted the project proponent and will seek the replacement of 4.42 million Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) associated with the rejected projects. The projects’ contributions to the VCS buffer pool will also be cancelled.
“The integrity of our standards programmes depends on projects meeting all applicable legal requirements, including necessary government approvals,” said Verra chief executive Mandy Rambharos. “We therefore take these findings extremely seriously. Our procedures now require VVBs to independently confirm the authenticity of all governmental approvals and submit this evidence to Verra for all projects in China. These steps are essential to protecting market credibility and stakeholder confidence.”
Beyond the rejected projects, Verra has raised concerns over a further 35 projects in China and will initiate QCRs under its Registration and Issuance Process. The projects’ VVBs have been instructed to contact the appropriate Chinese authorities to verify whether valid approvals were granted. Where authorisation cannot be confirmed, Verra said it may pursue further action, including project rejection and the requirement to replace issued VCUs.
While these reviews are ongoing, the affected projects have been placed on hold and are not permitted to issue new credits.
Separately, Verra said it is examining 10 additional AFOLU projects in China that previously issued 7.1 million VCUs before withdrawing from the Verra Registry. These projects will undergo a separate review to determine whether the required government approvals existed. The VVBs involved in these cases have already been suspended, and Verra said it will announce further actions once the reviews are completed.
