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CCA Welcomes ICVCM Approval of Cookstove Methodologies and Calls for Collective Action to Sustain Market Growth

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 12, 2025 — The Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA) welcomes the latest announcement by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) approving three cookstove methodologies for eligibility under its Core Carbon Principles (CCP) label. The opportunity for clean cooking carbon projects to become CCP-certified marks an important additional step toward enhancing market integrity, reinforcing confidence in clean cooking carbon credits, and expanding investment in high quality, sustainable projects. 

CCA appreciates the specificity that ICVCM provided regarding the conditions for gaining CCP eligibility. In particular, CCA supports: 

• The adoption of the peer-reviewed Modeling Fuelwood Savings Scenario (MoFuSS) tool in calculating the fraction of non-renewable biomass (fNRB) — one of the parameters needed to estimate greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions. MoFuSS sets a high benchmark for accuracy, contributing to the rigor needed to uphold the highest standards of carbon market integrity. 
• The requirement of using a Kitchen Performance Test or Controlled Cooking Test. By directly measuring fuel consumption, these protocols provide a much higher level of accuracy than previous self-reported survey options, further contributing to transparent and trustworthy assessments of GHG reductions. 

Alongside the designation of CCP-eligible methodologies, CCA recognizes the value of high integrity projects developed under other methodologies based on rigorous scientific research and broad public consultation. As highlighted in the recently launched “Buyer’s Guide to High-Quality Cookstove Carbon Credits,” a label such as the CCP is a valuable indicator of quality and can be particularly helpful to new buyers or those wishing to outsource due diligence responsibilities. At the same time, methodologies are but one aspect of assessing a project’s quality, and discerning buyers still have a wide range of credible and impactful credits to choose from, provided they carry out the necessary due diligence. CCA welcomes the efforts of the ICVCM, together with others, to bring the consistency needed across the market. 

“High quality methodologies provide an important framework for designing high quality projects,” noted Elisa Derby, Senior Director of Climate Impacts and Standards at CCA. “We’re delighted to have clean cooking methodologies approved for CCP label eligibility. We’re also aware there are existing responsible clean cooking projects currently issuing credits that display high integrity, using realistic and accurate input parameters and conservative assumptions.”  

Cookstove carbon credits stand out for their ability to deliver fast, tangible benefits, including: 

• Large and immediate emissions reductions, particularly from black carbon and other short-lived climate pollutants. 
• Strong benefits for people and nature, including improved health, time savings, and reduced pressure on forests and ecosystems. 
• Enhanced credibility and monitoring, supported by improving data systems and rigorous tools like MoFuSS. 

Given these climate and social benefits, clean cooking carbon credits have become increasingly vital for achieving both corporate climate strategies and governments’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. With the current NDC cycle ending in 2030—and in the context of declining Official Development Assistance and weakening international climate finance commitments—many governments face an urgent need for emission reductions that are large, immediate, and scalable. Clean cooking projects uniquely deliver on this need.  

To support the responsible evolution of the market and protect the critical benefits that clean cooking carbon projects deliver, CCA encourages partners to take collaborative action, including:  

• Standards bodies: Issue clear, practical guidance to help existing projects adapt to the CCP requirements, should they wish to.  
• Investors: Support willing developers in transitioning to CCP-eligible methodologies, which may drive greater demand and command premium pricing, particularly for projects seeking new buyers or where buyers are relatively new to the cookstove sector. 
• Investors: Provide patient capital to projects while they adapt to the latest approaches, while continuing to prioritize quality.  
• Development partners: Provide financial and technical support to small project developers to help them transition to CCP-aligned methodologies, ensuring a competitive and diverse market.  
• Technical experts: Continue refining approaches to increasing accuracy for input parameters, including researching the use of a marginal approach to fNRB assessment. 
• An independent third party with no perceived or actual conflict of interest: Undertake an impact assessment of the latest CCP requirements on the broader clean cooking carbon markets.   

“Buyers who have strong, lasting relationships with project developers and a deep knowledge of the market should remain confident in their investments, whether certified under a specific label or assessed through rigorous due diligence,” added Feisal Hussain, Senior Director of Innovative Finance at CCA. “The strength of this market depends not just on methodologies, but on the trust and integrity built between buyers, developers, and communities. That trust must continue to be reinforced as methodologies evolve.” 

For its part, CCA has already taken the following actions that will reinforce ICVCM’s decision and support smoother transition: 

• Invested in the creation of an online version of MoFuSS, which will make the program more accessible to project developers and allow for the use of project-specific values (rather than national or subnational averages), increasing the accuracy of fNRB calculations. 
• Developed, as a leading member of the Clean Cooking and Climate Consortium, the CLEAR Methodology.  CCA looks forward to CLEAR being approved by a carbon crediting program and published for use in the voluntary carbon market, and later under Articles 6.2 and 6.4 of the Paris Agreement.  
• Published the aforementioned “Buyer’s Guide to High-Quality Clean Cooking Carbon Credits” to help buyers confidently navigate this evolving market. The Guide provides practical frameworks and due diligence tools to assess project quality, understand the role of tools like MoFuSS, and manage risks—enabling informed purchasing decisions that align with the highest standards of integrity. 
• Advanced the Responsible Carbon Finance Code of Conduct for Project Developers, which aligns with ICVCM’s emphasis on integrity and credibility in the cookstove carbon market. Many of the requirements introduced under ICVCM’s approval of the three methodologies—including stronger fNRB calculations, direct fuel measurement, and enhanced monitoring—are reinforced by the Code’s principles on transparency, rigorous accounting, and equitable benefit-sharing. 

For more information about CCA’s efforts to strengthen carbon market integrity, click here.