Version history

Version history and changes to the Rainbow Standard Rules

👉 See Archived Rainbow Standard Documents for full versions of previous documents

Change log for Rainbow Standard Rules V7- Public consulation

Replace V6.2 with V7 November 2025, linked with Procedures Manual V3.0 release

General

• Eligibility criteria replaced with Principles and requirements

• Remove Minimum impact requirement

Environmental and social safeguards

• Specify all projects must prove compliance with local and national regulations

• Strengthened stakeholder consultation procedure, including a required meeting and thorough documentation

• New IPLC and FPIC requirements

• Risk assessment: any material risk identified must have a risk mitigation plan

• Expanded list of risks to assess

No scheme hopping

• New requirements for Project Developers to disclose if they have applied for certification under another standard or registry in the last 5 years

Durability

• Renamed from Permanence section

• Move risk of reversal assessment to methodology-level, if no material risks identified, no project requirements. If material risks are identified, projects follow risk assessment procedure.

• Defined avoidable vs unavoidable reversals

• No standard-level minimum durability threshold, methodologies define minimum permanence

• Minimum contribution to buffer pool changed to 2%, higher minimums may be determined in methodologies

Co-benefits

• Require quantification approach to be detailed and publicly disclosed

• All co-benefits must be monitored

• Removed minimum and maximum limit of 2-4 co-benefits

Delivery

• New section, addresses the removed Real eligibility criteria requirements

• Removed TRL eligibility criteria requirements, replaced with Feasibility

• Added requirements for minimum content of Monitoring plan

GHG quantification

• Added cumulative limit for exclusion cutoff threshold

• Strengthened Uncertainty assessment requirements, and approaches to making conservative choices when faced with uncertainty

• Maximum uncertainty level/discount factor of >15%

• Allow for GWP100 from other IPCC versions, if required for compliance with regulatory schemes

Monitoring plan

• Specify information to be provided with each monitored parameter

Baseline

• Moved out of GHG quantification and into new section, Project and baseline scope

• Replace Guidance on Avoided Emissions by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) with other best-practice guidelines for baselines (from ICVCM, CORISA, CRCF)

• Specify baseline must account for government policies and legal requirements that lower GHGs

• Remove substitution and targets alignment, reference these principles in Baseline section

Change log for Rainbow Standard Rules V6.2

Replace V6.1 with V6.2 October 2024

• Replace DPD and Detailed Project Description with PDD and Project Design document

• Revised Additionality Template with new requirements:

  • Sensitivity analysis

  • For barrier analysis, demonstrate alternative activities does not face same barrier

• Revise ESDNH criteria, minimum risks to consider for all projects

Change log for Rainbow Standard Rules V6.1

Replace V6.0 with V6.1 August 2024

• New appendix with IT Security requirements

• Terminology changes, reflected in the Glossary (notably discount factor and buffer pool)

Change log for Rainbow Standard Rules V6

Change log for Rainbow Standard Rules V5.2