Verra Launches New Carbon Registry Powered by S&P Global
Verra has launched its next-generation carbon registry powered by S&P Global Energy, completing a major technology upgrade intended to improve the management, tracking and retirement of carbon credits across its environmental standards programmes.
The new Verra Registry went live on 27 July 2026 following a development partnership announced in August 2025. According to Verra, the transition represents the largest user experience upgrade in the organization’s history and moves its registry operations onto S&P Global Energy’s Environmental Registry infrastructure.
During the migration, Verra transferred more than 5,900 projects at different stages of development, from draft listings to fully registered activities. The process also covered approximately 10,500 account holders, 1.4 billion carbon credits and 125,000 supporting documents. Existing project information, transaction records and credit histories have been retained.
The scale of the migration reflects Verra’s position within the voluntary carbon market. The organization administers several environmental standards, including the Verified Carbon Standard, under which projects can generate tradable Verified Carbon Units after demonstrating eligible greenhouse gas reductions or removals.
One Platform for the Credit Lifecycle
A central feature of the new registry is its integration with the Verra Project Hub. This allows project developers and other authorised users to follow projects through listing, validation, registration, monitoring, verification, credit issuance, transfer and retirement without repeatedly moving between separate platforms.
Under the previous system, project documentation and registry transactions were handled through different interfaces. The integration is intended to reduce duplication, make project status information easier to locate, and provide users with a more consistent view of each project’s progress.
The platform includes status-based issuance workflows designed to clarify the stage reached by an issuance request. It also improves the tracking of information associated with each verification event, including the methodology and methodology version applied to the project and the validation or verification body responsible for the assessment.
Reporting and search tools have also been updated. Market participants can access more detailed project-level information and review issuance histories through customisable reports. These functions could help buyers conduct due diligence by making it easier to examine when credits were issued, which project generated them and what standards or labels apply.
Other operational changes include faster administration of labels at the individual credit level, improved handling of buffer accounts used by certain land-based programmes and better document management for projects operating under multiple Verra standards.
More Streamlined Account Management
The registry introduces a revised account access system based on individual email addresses and two-factor authentication. Verra has also integrated its project document submission process and Know Your Customer questionnaire into the account application workflow.
Know Your Customer checks are an important component of carbon registry administration because registries must identify account holders, control access to tradable environmental assets and manage risks linked to fraud or unauthorized transactions.
Core functions remain unchanged. Account holders can continue to manage projects, request credit issuances, transfer units to other accounts and retire credits. Retirement permanently removes a credit from circulation and records its use against a climate target, carbon claim or other stated purpose.
Verra said the migration has not resulted in changes to its core fees or account requirements. It will continue to manage the registry and provide customer support, while S&P Global supplies the underlying technology infrastructure.
Future Connectivity with Carbon Market Infrastructure
Further upgrades are planned beyond the initial launch. Verra and S&P Global Energy expect the platform to support transaction-ready application programming interfaces, or APIs, that could automate certain transfers and retirements.
The planned connectivity is also expected to support deeper integration with carbon exchanges, brokers, marketplaces and other market infrastructure providers. This could reduce manual processing and allow transactions to be recorded more quickly across connected systems.
The organizations are also planning enhanced functionality related to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Article 6 establishes mechanisms through which countries may cooperate on emissions reductions and transfer certain mitigation outcomes internationally.
Carbon credits authorised for international use may require additional information, government approvals and accounting adjustments to prevent the same emissions reduction from being counted by more than one country or organization. Registry infrastructure is therefore increasingly expected to record authorization status and other attributes associated with internationally transferred credits.
The effectiveness of these future capabilities will depend on implementation details, including how data are standardized, how external platforms are connected and what controls are used to prevent duplicated transactions or inconsistent records.
Practical Implications for Market Participants
For project developers, the integrated system could reduce administrative work and provide clearer visibility over registration, verification and issuance requests. Faster access to project information may also help developers respond to questions from auditors, investors and credit buyers.
Validation and verification bodies could benefit from more structured access to project records and clearer identification of the methodologies applied during individual verification periods.
For corporate buyers, improved reporting and search functions may support credit screening and internal governance. However, registry modernization does not remove the need to assess the environmental integrity of individual credits.
Companies should continue to examine factors such as additionality, baseline assumptions, monitoring arrangements, permanence risks, potential leakage, community safeguards and alignment with recognised claims guidance. A registry records the ownership and transaction history of a credit, but it does not replace independent evaluation of whether that credit is suitable for a particular climate strategy.
Financial institutions, trading platforms and intermediaries may see greater opportunities to integrate their systems with the registry as the planned APIs become available. Increased automation could support higher transaction volumes, although participants will also need appropriate controls for cybersecurity, data quality, access management and regulatory compliance.
The launch comes as voluntary carbon markets face continued pressure to improve transparency, credibility and consistency. Digital infrastructure cannot resolve every concern surrounding project quality or corporate carbon claims, but reliable registries are essential for establishing ownership, preventing the repeated use of the same unit and maintaining an auditable record from issuance to retirement.
By consolidating project and transaction workflows, the Verra and S&P Global platform addresses an important operational part of that challenge. Its broader impact will become clearer as users adopt the system and future connectivity, Article 6 and data services are introduced.
Sources:
Cut through the green tape
We don't push agendas. At Net Zero Compare, we cut through the hype and fear to deliver the straightforward facts you need for making informed decisions on green products and services. Whether motivated by compliance, customer demands, or a real passion for the environment, you’re welcome here. We provide reliable information. Why you seek it is not our concern.