GHG Protocol, SBTi, carbon registries and the Paris Agreement set different rules for reporting bark methane uptake, counting it toward climate targets and issuing credits.
The diagram shows who writes the accounting rules and how they use climate research. Select an organization to read about its role and founders.
Select a molecule to read how bark methane uptake could be measured or counted.
Each system uses these findings to write its rules.
The registry records issued credits. Voluntary buyers and compliance programs each decide which credits they accept.
Countries report emissions and removals, track commitments and account for international transfers.
Each organization decides which scientific findings to use in its rules. Article 6 of Paris can connect project crediting with international cooperation. [14][10][41][20][22]
Suppose a company funds a forest methane pilot, then considers how to report the results. The rules depend on whether it funds research, reports uptake, or wants to count that uptake toward a target.
SBTi’s Ongoing Emissions Responsibility (OER) framework provides for company contributions alongside required emissions reductions.
SBTi’s research and advance-funding categories could support bark methane pilots that meet its eligibility and integrity requirements. The Corporate Net-Zero Standard v2 takes effect on 1 February 2027. [41]
Suppose the project demonstrates 1 tonne of methane uptake over a year above what would have happened without the project. The project can report this uptake in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e), using a specified climate metric.
To report bark methane uptake under GHG Protocol, a company would need to show how the forest relates to its operations or supply chain, and use an applicable method. From 1 January 2027, the Land Sector and Removals Standard provides for separate reporting of non-CO₂ removals. It does not supply a bark methane method. Purchased credits remain separate from company emission totals. [25][24]
Land-sector rules take effect 1 January 2027
GHG Protocol company inventories report each gas by mass and in CO₂e. Purchased credits are reported separately from scope totals.
Land Sector and Removals Requirement 19 provides for separate reporting of non-CO₂ removals. A method for accounting for bark methane uptake is still needed.
Next: Land-sector rules take effect in January 2027. A joint corporate revision with ISO has consultation scheduled for Q2 2027 and publication for Q4 2028.
Land Sector and Removals v1.1 was published in June 2026. Requirement 19 places reported non-CO₂ removals separately from Scope 1 and Scope 3 removals in the physical inventory. The standard covers specified agricultural tree systems and forest-related emissions, but does not provide a complete forest carbon framework. Forest carbon evidence is due 1 February 2027; a review of the standard is due by 2030.
The joint corporate revision with ISO includes work on Actions and Market Instruments. It explores separate statements for a company’s physical emissions and removals, accounting based on contracts, and the effects of company actions. Current advice is to report these separately, without subtracting one from another. Target and disclosure programs decide which statements they accept.
[24][25][26][27]OER contributions. Bark methane uptake may fit SBTi’s natural-sink category; its classification needs confirmation. Quantified contributions require carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) values and independent assurance. [41]
FLAG targets. Forest, Land and Agriculture (FLAG) rules accept eligible CO₂ removals. Bark methane does not qualify under that rule. OER outcomes cannot also meet the company’s SBTi emissions targets or be deducted from its reported emissions. [28][41]
Current guidance; v2 in development
Eligible removals under FLAG are CO₂ removals within the company's land or value chain. The metric guidance specifies AR6 GWP100.
Bark methane removal does not qualify under the current CO₂ removal rule.
Next: Evidence survey closes 8 October 2026. SBTi has not set a final FLAG v2 publication date on the page reviewed.
Section 3.1.4 requires ongoing CO₂ storage and monitoring. Purchased offsets cannot meet near-term FLAG or energy and industry targets. The FLAG metric guidance excludes GWP*.
[28][29][30]Version 2 is published; submission rules are changing
Version 2 was published on 11 June 2026. Submissions during 2026 use v1.3.1.
Companies can seek recognition for contributions under Ongoing Emissions Responsibility. Methane projects still need to show that they qualify.
Next: The standard lists 1 February 2027 as its effective date. Both versions are available through 31 January 2028 during the submission transition.
After 31 January 2028, new submissions must use v2.
[31][41]C41.3 allows companies to use their contribution budgets for research, advance funding of mitigation and work that makes mitigation possible. C41.1 includes enhancing natural carbon sinks, but does not expressly say how atmospheric methane oxidation is classified.
C42 requires safeguards, records of impact and assurance. Quantified outcomes must also be additional, measured conservatively and allocated without duplicate claims. Under C43.1, companies cannot use OER outcomes to meet Scope 1 to 3 targets or deduct them from their emissions inventories. Under C43.3, some removals reported separately in an inventory may contribute to OER, provided they are not also used toward other SBTi targets. [41]
Bark methane credits would need an approved method and verification under the chosen program. Verra’s bark module is on hold. Gold Standard is considering a concept. No bark method was identified for Isometric in this review. [32][33][34]
On hold since 1 April 2026
The proposed module would quantify methane removal through bark and complement forest project methodologies. It is not approved.
If development resumes, Verra would still need to approve the method before projects could seek credits.
Next: Verra will reassess whether to resume development in Q1 2027.
Verra names SelvaFlux as the submitter. Existing methane methods cover other activities: VMR0016 quantifies landfill-gas emission reductions.
[32][36]Concept consideration
Gold Standard lists SelvaFlux's proposed bark methane module for afforestation and reforestation projects at concept consideration.
Gold Standard is still considering the concept. This record contains no approved method for bark methane credits.
Next: The record lists methodology development as the next step. It gives no date for that step or for approval.
The public record names the proposal 'Quantification of CH₄ Removal via Bark Methanotrophy: Module for A/R Projects'. Its start date is 26 August 2025.
[33]Published standard
The standard uses CO₂e units and defaults to AR6 GWP100 unless a protocol or module specifies otherwise.
Bark methane crediting would need an applicable protocol.
Next: No bark methane protocol or approval date is established by the standard reviewed.
The standard's scope covers atmospheric CO₂ removal and specified emission reductions from existing emitters.
[34]To report bark methane uptake, a country would need a suitable method to estimate uptake and report it under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Nationally determined contributions (NDCs), countries’ climate plans, could account for bark methane uptake. [35][21]
Current transparency rules
National reporting uses AR5 GWP100, or values from a later IPCC assessment agreed by the CMA. Countries also report each gas by mass.
A country would need a method for estimating bark methane uptake and reporting it in its UNFCCC inventory. Article 6 transfers would also need authorization and would have to meet the applicable accounting rules.
Next: A later IPCC assessment changes the required metric only when the CMA adopts it. No bark methane adoption date is established here.
Paragraph 37 permits supplementary reporting using other metrics; paragraph 47 addresses gas-specific reporting. National inventory reporting does not create a tradable unit.
[35][22]SBTi would need to clarify whether bark methane qualifies under its published OER rules. Other uses need new methods or revised standards. The organization responsible for each set of rules makes that decision.
SelvaFlux uses GWP20 for its main methane comparison and potential payment calculations. With the factor in IPCC AR6 Table 7.SM.7, one tonne of methane is equivalent to 81.2 tonnes of CO₂ over 20 years. The table excludes methane-carbon accounting. We have not estimated that separate carbon adjustment. These figures do not account for everything needed to calculate net project credits. [4]
Google has announced a purchase of methane reductions from Terradot using GWP20. That agreement shows a buyer using GWP20 in a purchase. It does not establish eligibility for bark methane credits or supply a price for our model. Read the purchase details and sources. [5]
Google also links to a research preprint by Hughes and colleagues. It models temperature through time for combinations of methane mitigation and durable CO₂ removal. Version 2 is dated 11 September 2026. [6]
Our GWP100 comparison keeps the model’s earlier factor of 27, the non-fossil value in AR6 Table 7.15. This table treats methane-derived carbon differently. The supplementary table gives a GWP100 factor of 27.9 alongside 81.2; we report that value separately. GWP* depends on how methane uptake changes over time. We also calculate potential payments using GWP* if buyers and registries accept it. Each reporting program decides which units it accepts. [3][4][7]
AR5 and AR6 are the IPCC’s Fifth and Sixth Assessment Reports. They supply values for metrics such as 100-year global warming potential (GWP100).
GHG Protocol recommends AR6 values; SBTi FLAG specifies AR6 GWP100. Paris reporting requires AR5 GWP100, or later values adopted by its governing body. A new IPCC report does not automatically change these rules. [23][29][35]
Isometric Standard v2.1 defaults to AR6 GWP100, unless a protocol specifies otherwise. FLAG excludes GWP*. Changes to earlier reporting periods depend on each system’s recalculation and transition rules. [34][29]
See the science page for the climate meaning of these metrics.
Physical science draft under expert review
AR6 is the latest completed assessment. AR7 is in preparation, with Working Group I's first draft open for expert review.
Future assessments may inform methane accounting. Each reporting or crediting body must still decide how to adopt the science.
Next: Review comments are due 2 October 2026. The AR7 synthesis report is planned for late 2029.
Experts must register by 25 September 2026 to join this review. Working Group I assesses the physical science basis. The synthesis report follows all three Working Group reports.
[37][23][35]Expert review deadline
Comments on the first draft are due. Experts must register by 25 September to take part. [37]
Within Q1: evidence deadline
The forest carbon request for information closes. [26]
Effective date
The published standard takes effect, including its optional OER framework. [41]
Scheduled consultation
The joint corporate accounting consultation is scheduled to open. [27]
Transition deadline
The period allowing both versions ends. New submissions after this date must use v2. [31]
Scheduled publication
The joint corporate accounting standard is scheduled for publication. [27]
Planned publication
The synthesis report is planned to follow the three Working Group reports. Each accounting body would decide whether to use the new findings in its rules. [37]
Gold Standard’s next step, final FLAG v2 adoption and bark methane method approval have no final dates established in this review.
Bark methane uptake can be recorded in tonnes of methane (tCH₄) alongside its carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) value. A contract could specify methane tonnes directly; a credit would also need an issuing program. SBTi, registries and countries each set their own requirements for units, methods and claims.
A buyer or public fund could contract for a verified methane quantity. The contract would need to state the evidence required, the measurement period, the units used and what the buyer could claim. Funding a pilot does not by itself mean buying its measured uptake.
GHG Protocol’s Actions and Market Instruments work is examining how companies could report their climate actions and contracts separately. Companies could also consider SBTi’s published OER rules, which have their own requirements for classifying and checking contributions. [27][41]
Reporting uptake in both methane tonnes and CO₂e does not allow the same result to be issued or sold twice. [41][22]
Rules reviewed 7 September 2026; OER clauses checked 8 September 2026.
Global atmospheric methane uptake by upland tree woody surfaces. The measurements and global estimates supply the methane uptake figures used here. The paper also includes a GWP* illustration using the formula published there.
Environmental Research Letters 15, 044023. The study explains the warming-equivalent treatment of changes in short-lived greenhouse-gas emissions.
Table 7.15, printed page 1017. The non-fossil methane GWP100 value is 27.0, with a different methane-carbon treatment from the supplementary table's carbon-excluded 27.9.
Table 7.SM.7, printed page 16, methane row and footnote 1. GWP20 is 81.2 and GWP100 is 27.9, with methane-carbon accounting excluded.
16 September 2026. The article states a methane-elimination purchase in GWP20 units and a separate permanent carbon-removal purchase.
Research preprint, version 2, 11 September 2026. The paper models temperature through time for combinations of methane mitigation and durable CO₂ removal. Google links to it from the Terradot announcement.
Our model uses GWP100 × [4 Q(t) − 3.75 Q(t−20)], keeping its earlier factor of 27.
UN identity, founders and scientific role.
Inventory methodology work.
WRI, WBCSD and standards governance.
Founding collaboration and institutional role.
Board of Trustees and SBTi Services.
Convention, secretariat and governing bodies.
Scientific input to the Convention and Paris Agreement.
Environmental disclosure system.
Special initiative of the UN Secretary-General.
CDP and WBCSD are among its founding members.
Independent, nongovernmental standards organization.
The ISO 14064 series covers organizations, projects and verification.
Program rules, methodologies, independent auditing and registry.
Treaty text, especially Articles 4, 5, 6 and 13.
International transfers, the crediting mechanism and non-market cooperation.
Version 2.0, August 2024, pages 1 and 2. AR5 and AR6 values and source classification.
Revised edition, chapter 9. Gas-specific mass, CO₂e and separate reporting of offsets.
Version 1.1, June 2026. Box 1.1 and Requirement 19 address scope and separate non-CO₂ removal reporting.
Forest carbon evidence request closes 1 February 2027.
29 July 2026. Joint ISO schedule and interim advice on separate accounting statements.
Version 1.2, March 2026, section 3.1.4. CO₂ removal eligibility and target boundaries.
Page 8 specifies AR6 GWP100 and excludes GWP*.
FLAG version 2 development and the 8 October 2026 evidence deadline.
June 2026 publication, transition dates and Ongoing Emissions Responsibility.
M0423 is on hold. Verra identifies Q1 2027 for reassessing whether development resumes.
NMC 187 is at concept consideration. The record lists methodology development as its next step.
Version 2.1, sections 1.3.2, 1.3.4 and 2.5.5. Scope, CO₂e units and default AR6 GWP100.
Annex paragraphs 37 and 47. AR5 GWP100 or later values agreed by the CMA, and gas-specific reporting.
An example of methane emission reduction crediting for landfill gas.
6 July 2026. Review registration closes 25 September; comments are due 2 October. The synthesis report is planned for late 2029.
Nonprofit status, 2007 founding and governance.
WWF and other international nongovernmental organizations established Gold Standard in 2003.
Company identity and certification activities.
Checked 8 September 2026. C5 specifies GHG Protocol inventories. C41 to C44, printed pages 71 to 75, cover eligible contributions, integrity and separate reporting. The version history lists 1 February 2027 as the effective date.
