Gold Standard Publishes Biochar Carbon Removal Method
The PARC methodology is the standards body's first framework for crediting biochar-based carbon dioxide removal.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Organic Food
Geneva-based climate standards organization Gold Standard has published its Production and Application for the Removal of Carbon via Biochar (PARC) methodology. It allows qualifying biochar projects to issue credits for carbon expected to remain stored for at least 200 years.
Why it matters
The framework sets rules for how biochar projects must account for emissions from biomass supply, production, transport, application, leakage, and uncertainty before credits are issued. Its requirement that feedstock be genuinely surplus is intended to prevent credits for biomass that would otherwise have been put to alternative use.
The methodology sets a minimum storage duration of 200 years and requires at least five units of carbon dioxide stored for every unit of emissions generated. Projects must also contribute to a buffer or apply a risk deduction of at least 2.5%, and the source does not state how the thresholds will be enforced across projects.
The players
Gold Standard
Gold Standard is a Geneva-based climate standards organization that certifies carbon credit projects and methodologies.
The details
The PARC methodology divides projects into three production-scale categories, with distributed operations handling less than one tonne of dry biomass daily, mechanized facilities handling one to 15 tonnes, and industrial operations handling more than 15 tonnes. Purpose-grown biomass and organic waste are restricted to industrial-scale projects, and the framework includes digital tracking for distributed production and applies a downward adjustment factor aligned with the Paris Agreement when credits are issued.
Timeline
November 3, 2026: Gold Standard published the PARC methodology.
Market Landscape
Gold Standard's PARC methodology is its first framework for biochar-based carbon dioxide removal, extending its existing carbon crediting approach into a new removal pathway. The rules tie credit issuance to Paris Agreement-aligned adjustments, placing biochar projects within the same accounting logic that governs other carbon credit markets.
The framework affects projects that convert biomass into biochar, meaning farms and facilities producing or applying biochar would need to meet its feedstock, deduction, and tracking rules to issue credits. Individuals are not directly affected by the methodology's technical requirements.
The takeaway
Carbon removal claims based on biochar depend on verifiable storage duration and on biomass that would not otherwise have been used. The PARC methodology's surplus-feedstock and 200-year storage requirements show how credit standards are being written to address those concerns.
Further reading
For broader context on related food production practices, see Organic Food.
