ABSTRACT
The most common standards for forest carbon offset projects on the voluntary market are the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and the CCB Standards introduced above (and discussed in detail below). The VCS lacks criteria for measuring the potential social and environmental impact of offset projects, and simply measures greenhouse gas emissions. Nonetheless, compliance with local and national environmentallegislation is required (Koilmuss et al. 2008: 60). VCS was established in 2005 by the NGOs; The Climate Group, the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. VCS' status is that of a nonprofit NGO whose objective is to provide quality assurance on the voluntary carbon market."
