Per Section 6.0 of GHG Emission Reduction and Sequestration Product Requirements, Gold Standard Projects that generate GHGs emission reductions are eligible to claim credits for no more than:
- The maximum Certification Renewals/Cycles as stipulated in the relevant Activity Requirements
OR
- A maximum of one Certification Renewal Cycles (i.e. 10 years) in the absence of the Activity Requirements
Note that transition projects renewing their crediting period under Gold Standard for the Global Goals shall maintain their existing crediting cycle and maximum crediting periods following Transition Requirements.
The start date of the Gold Standard Crediting Period is the date operation starts (start of planting for Afforestation/Reforestation (A/R) Projects) or a maximum of two years prior to Gold Standard Design Certification, whichever occurs later. In case of A/R and Agriculture Projects, it is a maximum three years prior to Project Design Certification.
In case the start date of the Gold Standard Crediting Period is after the date of Project Design Certification, then it may be postponed for one year without justification, or for up to two years if convincing justification is provided. The start date of the crediting period as mentioned in the registered Project Design Document (PDD) cannot be postponed by more than 2 years. (LUF – N/A)
Upon completion and approval of the Performance Review, the Gold Standard shall certify the entire amount of emission reductions specified in the monitoring report and achieved by the Project. Certification of only part of total volume of emission reductions specified in the report approved by Gold Standard is NOT allowed.
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project can claim the remaining CDM crediting period under Gold Standard for Global Goals (GS4GG), but no more than the maximum crediting years allowed under relevant GS4GG activity requirements.
The CDM project will be eligible for retroactive crediting for a maximum of two years prior to the date of Gold Standard registration. However, the total crediting period of the project shall not exceed the standard crediting period allowed under relevant GS4GG activity requirements.
The CDM project shall follow the GS4GG crediting cycle after the transition to GS4GG. For example, if a project was registered with a 7-year renewable crediting period and 3 years of the ongoing crediting period had been issued under CDM, the project can claim 2 more years under GS4GG and then the project will need to undergo the renewal of the crediting period after issuing for total 5 years (3 years with CDM and 2 years with GS) i.e., once it has reached the maximum crediting years per cycle allowed under GS4GG.