CDM Transition to Gold Standard
Looking to transition your CDM project to Gold Standard?
Transitioning to Gold Standard may be the right solution if you have a high-impact CDM project or Program of Activities (PoA) that is at risk of discontinuation – and you worry about missing out on future revenue from non-issued or unsold CERs.
This page intends to provide additional clarity to project developers who are thinking of transitioning their CDM projects and/or PoAs (or projects from other standards) to Gold Standard. The information provided here does not supersede or replace Gold Standard’s GHG Emissions Reduction & Sequestration Product Requirements Annex B Version 2.1 published on the 24th of February 2022.
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More on eligibility
Gold Standard Eligible Impact Quantification
All projects shall conform to the relevant Activity Requirements and Gold Standard Approved Methodologies, including eligible CDM Methodologies. Where applicable, projects should also meet the additional GS4GG methodology eligibility requirements.
Renewable Energy Project Eligibility
Renewable Energy Projects/POAs that started their original crediting period after 24/01/2020, must be:
- Located in a Least Developed Country (LDC), Small Island Developing State (SIDS), a Land Locked Developing Country (LLDC) or conflict zone.
- Located in a low income or lower middle-income country where the penetration level of the proposed renewable energy technology type is less than 5% of the total grid installed capacity, at the time of the first submission for preliminary review.
Transitioning Options & Timeline
To minimize disruption and keep the transition review time and costs minimum, the projects are provided with flexibilities as summarized in the table below;
| CERTIFICATION OUTCOME | CERTIFICATION stage * | OPTION 1** | OPTION 2*** | OPTION 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal certification pathway | Combined Preliminary Review + Validation + Design Review | Combined Validation + Verification followed by combined Design + Performance Reviews | ||
| Listing | Preliminary Review | SustainCERT | SustainCERT | SustainCERT |
|
Certified Design
Registration
|
Validation | VVB | VVB | |
| Design Review | SustainCERT | SustainCERT | ||
|
Certified Project
Issuance
|
Verification | VVB | VVB | VVB |
| Performance Review | SustainCERT | SustainCERT | SustainCERT | |
| SustainCERT minimum
timelines (excludes SSB timelines) |
11 weeks | 11 weeks | 10 weeks | |
|
Project shall go through Preliminary Review by SustainCERT.
4 weeks
Design Review is conducted after Validation by VVB and is concluded when all CARs/CLs are sucessfully closed.
Minimum 4 weeks
Performance Review is conducted after Verification by VVB and is concluded when all CARs/CLs are sucessfully closed.
Minimum 3 weeks
|
Project may combine Preliminary Review with Validation and Design Review. All these steps can be combined and completed by SustainCERT.
VVB shall complete the Verification.
Performance Review is conducted after Verification by VVB and is concluded when all CARs/CLs are sucessfully closed.
|
Project shall go through Preliminary Review by SustainCERT.
4 weeks
Project Developers may combine Design Review with first Verification and Preliminary Review.
VVB may combine site visits and VBB submits positive Validation reports at the same time.
Concurrent Design Review and Performance Review is conducted after submission of Validation and Verification reports by VVB and is concluded when all CARs/CLs are successfully closed.
Minimum 6 weeks
|
||
Transitioning Options
Option 1**
A validation site visit by a VVB is not required as long as the VBB conducted a site visit as part of validation/verification in the last three years (from time of first submission for preliminary review) and new/updated information can be audited based on desk review and/or using remote audit approaches.
Option 2***
SustainCERT conducts project design elements desk based audit and approves project transition, without a VVB’s opinion. If the transition project is applying a new/latest version of the methodology which requires a full audit by a VVB, option 2 cannot be applied.
What's Next?
Download the Gold Standard Transition Request Form and submit it following these steps.
If you are interested in Option 2 (table above) or still have questions about CDM transition, contact us and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Important details to know
- Combined certification steps to ease the transition – please see transitioning options section below for more info
- Projects transitioning from CDM can continue using their current methodology until the time of renewal of their crediting period
- Projects may access 2 years retroactive (backdated) VER crediting from the time of first submission to GS
- Transition request form updated to simplify + accelerate review process – allows project developers to demonstrate compliance with the transition requirements without the need to develop totally new gold standard project documentation (e.g. GS PDD)
- Eligible CDM energy or waste projects are not required to deregister from CDM
- Eligible CDM A/R projects are required to deregister from CDM
- GS VERs can be issued for the maximum crediting period allowed as per the Gold Standard Activity Requirements, or the crediting period under the project’s previous standard, whichever ends first
- GS CERs maintain their existing crediting cycle and maximum crediting periods upon transition to Gold Standard. Crediting period and project start date are not defined by when your project is approved to transition to Gold Standard
- Project renewal under Gold Standard is 5 years
Certification Stage Glossary
Preliminary review is conducted once at the time of first submission to gold standard. It involves desk review of the key project information and draft project design document by SustainCERT.
Design certification (validation + design review) involves validation by vvb and design review by SustainCERT. With successful design certification the project will obtain ‘certified design’ status that is equivalent to registration under cdm and other standard. Please note that in option 2 these steps are completed by SustainCERT only.
Performance certification (verification + performance review) involves verification by vvb and performance review by SustainCERT. The positive conclusion of the performance review period shall result in gold standard ‘certified project status’ and project can issue gsvers. The project may opt for combined design certification, conducting both the first verification and performance review under gs at the same time.
Refer To Section 5. Project Cycle Principles And Requirements For Details.