| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Agreed-Upon-Procedures | A type of Project Validation performed by an accredited VVB, such as EY. This must align with ISO 14064-3 and 14065 and met the Minimum Requirements for Validation and/or Verification below. |
| Approved Methodology | A methodology that meets both OCP Methodology Requirements and the Voting Criteria, as decided by the Voting Experts on the Expert Panel. |
| Baseline Scenario | The counterfactual, or the alternative case of the activity/project absence of the incentives created by carbon finance while holding all other factors constant. Also known as the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario. |
| Buffer Pool | A single, OCP-wide pooled reserve of Carbon Credits held to compensate for Material Reversals of emission reduction/removals from Projects. |
| Cancellation | The permanent removal of a carbon credit from the OCP Registry without claiming the associated benefit of the reduction/removal for any voluntary or mandatory target. All cancellation are tracked on the OCP Registry. May occur for these reasons: compensating for reversal events, compensating for excess issuance. |
| Carbon Credit | The unique token issued for 1 metric tonne of CO2e reduced or removed for a registered project. The owner of the credit has the right to use this token for mitigation and offsetting purposes. |
| Carbon Finance | The financial instruments, including Carbon Credits, resulting from registered projects. |
| CCP-Approved | Certification of issued carbon credits within an ICVCM-approved 'Category' for an ICVCM-approved program (i.e. OCP, once approved) CCP = Core Carbon Principle, from ICVCM |
| Contributors | Non-voting members of the expert panel - can leave and respond to comments, but will not decide when a methodology is ready for public commentary or vote on whether to approve or reject. Contributors either have an incentive to pass or reject the methodology, a conflict of interest with the OCP or Curator, or have indicated a need to stay impartial from methodology approval (e.g. Project Developers, dMRV, Buyers, certain NGOs) |
| CORSIA | The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, a global GHG emissions reduction program developed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to address the CO2 emissions of international air travel |
| Crediting Period | The total period during which the registered project can generate carbon credits based on its baseline scenario. |
| Double Claiming | A type of double counting in which the same GHG emission reduction or removal is claimed by two different entities towards achieving mitigation targets or goals: once by a country, jurisdiction or other entity that reports lower GHG emissions or higher GHG removals for the purpose of demonstrating achievement of a mitigation target or goal, and once by the entity retiring the carbon credit for the purpose of making a GHG emission offsetting claim. |
| Double Counting | A situation in which a single GHG emission reduction or removal is counted more than once towards achieving mitigation targets or goals. Double counting can occur through double issuance, double use, and double claiming. |
| Double Issuance | A type of double counting in which more than one carbon credit is issued for the same emission reduction or removal. Double issuance leads to double counting if more than one of these carbon credits is claimed towards achieving mitigation targets or goals. |
| Double Use | A type of double counting in which a single carbon credit is claimed twice towards achieving mitigation targets or goals. |
| Ex-post | Credit issuance from a reported and verified emission reduction/removal. All OCP credits are ex-post. |
| Ex-ante | Credit issuance based on an estimated emission reduction/removal that has not yet occurred. The OCP does not issue ex-ante credits. |
| Expert Panel | A group of experts assigned to a specific methodology to provide feedback and help improve the methodology. Split into Voting Experts and Contributors. |
| GHG Emission Reduction | A net reduction in anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions by sources. |
| GHG Emission Removal | A net enhancement of anthropogenic removals by sinks. |
| Global Warming Potential (GWP) | A measure that allows for the comparison of the global warming impacts of different gases by indicating how much energy the emissions of 1 ton of a gas will absorb over a specific period, relative to 1 ton of carbon dioxide (CO2). A larger GWP signifies that a gas contributes more to warming the Earth compared to CO2 over that timeframe. |
| Greenhouse Gas (GHG) | Greenhouse gases are those gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, that absorb and emit radiation at specific wavelengths within the spectrum of thermal infrared radiation emitted by the Earth’s surface, the atmosphere itself, and by clouds. This property causes the greenhouse effect |
| Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC) | Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) are, typically, ethnic groups who are descended from and identify with the original inhabitants of a given region, in contrast to groups that have settled, occupied or colonized the area more recently. |
| Issuance | The creation of a block of carbon credits for a Registered Project on the OCP Registry representing a verified GHG Emission Reduction or Removal for a specific reporting period. |
| Leakage | A situation where project activity impacts GHG emissions not covered by the project proposal. Types can include: Activity-Shifting: project activity causes emissions to shift locations not targeted or monitored by the project (e.g. displacement of agricultural activities from afforested land). Ecological: project activity impacts emissions in hydrologically connected areas (e.g. increased emission from wetlands if the water level is lowered from project activities). Market: project activities impact supply or demand of an emissions-intensive product or service, thereby increasing or decreasing emissions elsewhere (e.g. increase demand for virgin refrigerants from refrigerant destruction). Upstream/Downstream Emission: project activities impact emissions upstream or downstream of project (e.g. emissions from production of fuel or feedstock). |
| Material Reversal | A reversal event resulting in a cumulative loss of credited emissions reductions or removals exceeding the OCP’s materiality threshold, defined as 5% of the total carbon credits previously issued to the project. |
| Methodology | The framework document defining project eligibility and other project requirements, as well as the GHG Emission Reduction or Removal quantification calculations for projects that generate carbon credits. List of OCP Approved Methodologies. |
| Methodology Curator | The person or organization that proposes a specific methodology or methodology version on the OCP and is responsible for integrating comments and feedback into the methodology. They are not included in the final vote on whether a methodology should be approved. The curator could be the author of the methodology, or a group responsible for bringing an open source methodology to the OCP. |
| Monitored Data | Data for a Registered Project that is measured and reported throughout the crediting period. Once submitted, it must be verified before carbon credits are issued. |
| OCP Registry | 'Open Carbon Protocol' program and platform responsible for registering projects and issuing carbon credits. |
| Platform Partner | OCP partner organizations that sit as Contributor on all/most Expert Panels to perform a specific review process. Currently, we have a partnership with kita.earth to provide feedback on reversal risk analysis and Buffer Pool creation. |
| Project Registration Date | The date that the OCP approves the Project Validation for a given project. It is also the date the Project is publicly registered on the OCP Registry. |
| Project Developer | The organization that develops the Project, submits the Project Proposal, and has legal ownership of the Project. Also known as at other registries: Project Proponent |
| Project Proposal | A form on the OCP platform that a Project Developer uses to submit project information for validation. Also known as at other registries: Project Design Document (PDD) |
| Registered Project | A project that has successfully undergone Validation and been approved for registration by an independent VVB/Auditor. These projects are publicly available on the ‘Registered Projects’ tab of the OCP Registry. |
| Reporting Period | The recurring interval between project monitored data submissions (and therefore data verifications). |
| Retirement | The permanent removal of a carbon credit from the OCP Registry for the purpose of claiming the associated benefit of the reduction/removal for any voluntary or mandatory target. All retirements (and their purpose and beneficial owner) are tracked on the OCP Registry. Each carbon credit can only be retired once. |
| Reversal | An event where a documented emission reduction or removal within a project has been lost or re-emitted after the associated carbon credit has been issued. Avoidable Reversal: A material reversal attributable to negligence, non-compliance, or failure to implement required monitoring or mitigation measures by a Project Developer. Unavoidable Reversal: A material reversal resulting from exogenous factors beyond the reasonable control of the Project Developer. |
| Set Data | Data for a Registered Project that is reported during Project Proposal as it will not change through the crediting period. It is reviewed as part of the validation process, and referred to in monitored data verification. |
| Start Date | The calendar date on which the project officially began - either the first expenditure, the first signed contract, or the first physical action was executed by the Project Developer. Set at a methodology level on the OCP. |
| Validation (also, Project Validation) | The process of independent, third-party evaluation of a project requesting registration (see: Registered Project) on the OCP Registry by an accredited VVB against the relevant OCP Methodology and OCP requirements set out in this OCP Handbook. If successful, the project will be registered on the OCP Registry. More Information. |
| Verification (also, Data Verification) | The process of independent, third-party ex-post evaluation by a VVB of monitored data by a registered project to issue carbon credits against the Minimum Requirements for Verifications on the OCP. If successful, the associated carbon credits will be issued to the Project Developer's account. |
| Vintage | The calendar year in which the emission reduction or removal associated with a carbon credit took place. On the OCP, this can be seen in the year for each issuance date. |
| Voting Experts | Members of the expert panel who can have both commenting and voting rights on a specific methodology. Each expert can indicate when they think the methodology is 'Ready for Public Commentary' and will vote in the final round on whether a methodology should be approved or not. Voting Experts must be completely independent of the OCP and Curator, and have no incentive to either pass or reject a methodology. The OCP will run a methodology-specific conflict of interest check before any new methodology or version update process is kicked off. |
| VVB | An independent third-party entity that is accredited for performing project validation and/or data verification activities. VVB = Validation and Verification Body |