Engineered CDR projects (e.g., DACCS, BECCS, ERW) face high upfront costs and long gestation periods, where financial commitments often precede physical operation by years. To ensure administrative agility, this update moves away from rigid physical milestones to reflect the operational realities of these technologies. It ensures developers are not penalised by regulatory backlogs or development cycles while maintaining strict integrity.
Key Features:
- The update defines Activity Start Dates based on auditable financial or operational commitments rather than generic physical milestones.
- It introduces a 3-year submission window, with a 5-year cap for justifiable external delays, to provide necessary administrative flexibility.
- Existing safeguards are maintained to strictly prevent premature crediting and excessive backdating.
Gold Standard invites feedback from stakeholders:
- Are the proposed materiality thresholds for irreversible commitments (e.g., ≥ 0.5% of CAPEX) appropriate and auditable?
- Do the specified triggers accurately reflect the deployment realities of different project archetypes, such as hubs or modular systems?
- Do the 3-year standard window and 5-year exemption cap provide sufficient flexibility without creating loopholes?
- Are the boundaries for excluded preparatory activities, like R&D or permitting, clearly defined?
- Does the 2-year cap on retroactive crediting effectively mitigate backdating risks?
Gold Standard welcomes feedback until 14 May 2026.