VCM Update — January 2026: Three January Developments You Shouldn't Miss

In our January 2026 Stakeholder Webinar recap, we covered Verra's shift from "Progress and Stability" to "Delivery and Scale": the new registry, faster review timelines, and the long-awaited arrival of REDD+ credits.

If you haven't caught up yet, you can find our full recap.

But January was a busy month for the broader VCM, and there were a few other developments worth paying close attention to.

Welcome back to VCM Update, Archeda's ongoing editorial series where our team highlights the most important developments in the Voluntary Carbon Market. 

This month, we're taking a look at what else moved in January: tighter leakage accounting from Verra, a major shift in how SBTi expects companies to approach net zero, and the first CORSIA-labeled credits finally hitting the market.

Verra Tightens Leakage Accounting for Land-Use Projects (VMD0054 v1.1)

In January 2026, Verra released a minor but meaningful revision to VMD0054, the module used by forestry and land-use carbon projects to estimate leakage — the unintended greenhouse gas emissions that occur outside a project's boundary when agricultural or fuelwood activities get displaced elsewhere.

Version 1.1 brings three notable changes:

• Cross-commodity production can now offset leakage. If a project introduces new commodities within its boundary (say, agroforestry products), that in-project production reduces the pressure to convert land elsewhere — and the accounting now reflects that. The old term "Foregone Production" has been renamed "Change in Production" to capture this two-way dynamic.

• The emissions cost of leakage mitigation must now be counted. When projects help farmers intensify production outside the boundary to prevent displacement, that's good — but intensification has its own carbon footprint (fertilizers, machinery, etc.). New equations require those emissions to be reported, preventing mitigation credits from being overstated.

• Land cover assumptions are now more context-sensitive. The default assumption — that displaced production converts forest — can now be replaced with the next most common native ecosystem (e.g., native grassland) in regions where forest cover is below 10% or annual deforestation rates are below 0.1%. This prevents leakage from being systematically overestimated in low-forest landscapes.

• The module applies to VM0047, VM0042, and VM0032. Projects using v1.0 have until January 31, 2027 to transition.

For the full details of the VMD0054 v1.1 revision, you can refer to Verra's official release.

While Verra was refining the technical mechanics of how land-use projects account for emissions, a parallel conversation was underway at the corporate level — about what it actually means for a company to commit to net zero.

What's Coming in SBTi's Corporate Net-Zero Standard Version 2.0

In January 2026, Gold Standard hosted a webinar with Alberto Carrillo Pineda, Chief Technical Officer of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), to walk through the key changes proposed in the latest draft of the Corporate Net-Zero Standard Version 2.0 — and what they mean for companies navigating the shift from climate ambition to real implementation.

SBTi has now crossed 10,000 companies with validated targets, up from around 6,000 just twelve months ago and just 114 at the time of the Paris Agreement in 2015. The growth reflects not just broader awareness, but the underlying credibility of aligning corporate targets with what the science actually requires.

Version 2.0 reflects that maturation. Where the first net-zero standard (2021) focused on defining what net zero means, v2.0 is focused on helping companies actually get there — with stronger accountability mechanisms, more nuance across sectors and value chain stages, and a system designed to reward continuous progress rather than just initial commitment. Key elements discussed include:

• A revised validation cycle that includes readiness checks and progress reviews, so accountability doesn't end at target-setting.

• Stricter target boundaries across Scopes 1 and 2 — now required as separate targets with 100% coverage — alongside new Scope 3 pathway options that acknowledge the practical difficulties of value chain measurement, without lowering overall ambition.

• Formal recognition of beyond value chain mitigation (BVCM) as a voluntary leadership action, with high-quality carbon credits cited as one eligible instrument — though eligible criteria are still to be defined.

• A strengthened focus on implementation credibility, including mandatory third-party assurance for large companies and a requirement to publish a climate transition plan within 12 months of target validation.

The second public consultation on v2.0 drew over 900 submissions — SBTi's largest ever. The final standard will undergo Technical Council review and Board of Trustees approval before publication, with the timeline for release still to be confirmed.

For organizations in Asia and the ASEAN region, the direction of travel is clear: the window for setting targets without a credible implementation roadmap is closing. Version 2.0 is designed to support companies that are ready to move from pledges to action.

This section is based on Gold Standard's January 2026 webinar with SBTi. You can find the original webinar and related materials.

Verra Issues First CORSIA-Labeled Carbon Credits

In January 2026, Verra took a concrete step toward linking voluntary carbon markets with international aviation compliance: applying the first CORSIA eligibility labels to nearly 4.8 million VCS credits, making them officially available to airlines participating in the UN's Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).

The first labeled credits come from clean cooking and household energy transition projects in Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia, led by DelAgua. These projects were chosen not just for their emissions reductions but for their measurable community co-benefits — a signal that CORSIA-grade integrity and development impact are not mutually exclusive.　

Under CORSIA rules, credits issued from 2021 onwards must carry an Article 6 Authorized — International Mitigation Purposes label to be eligible. This means Verra had to work directly with host governments to verify their Letters of Authorization — confirming approved vintages, volumes, and terms. 

In practice, this makes the CORSIA labeling process one of the first large-scale tests of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement operating in the real world.

CORSIA's first compliance phase runs from 2024 to 2026, and more labeled credits from additional projects are expected in the coming months. 

For carbon project developers, particularly those working in clean energy and land use across the Global South, this development opens a significant new demand channel, and sets a clearer bar for what "compliance-grade" credits will need to look like going forward.

For the full announcement, you can refer to Verra's official statement.

Closing Thoughts

January's three updates share a common thread: the bar for what counts as a credible carbon credit, and a credible climate commitment is being raised across the board.

Rules are getting more precise. Corporate targets are being held to a higher standard. And for the first time, voluntary carbon credits are being formally recognized within an international compliance framework. Taken together, these are signs of a market that is maturing, not just in ambition, but in accountability.

For those already operating in this space, the details matter and the deadlines are real. For those still on the sidelines, the direction of travel is becoming harder to ignore. 

We'll be back next month with another round of updates. 

In the meantime, if you have thoughts on any of the developments covered here, or topics you'd like us to dig into, we'd love to hear from you in the comments below.