On October 10, 2026, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) published notice 环办气候函〔2026〕385号, issued jointly with the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA) and dated October 9, 2026, releasing the revised methodology Afforestation Carbon Sink (CCER-14-001-V02) for China's national voluntary greenhouse gas reduction market. The notice takes formal effect 30 days after issuance, on November 9, 2026. CCER afforestation project developers (项目业主), Chinese state-owned forest farms and forestry enterprises (林木所有权人), carbon asset development firms servicing the national CCER market, CCER third-party verification bodies (审定与核查机构), and forest-right holders leasing land for afforestation CCER projects must, for any new application from that date, apply methodology V02, with forest-ownership proof and, where the project owner is not the forest owner, an emission-reduction transfer agreement, plus a no-clear-cutting commitment for the project lifespan, or the project cannot be registered in the national CCER registry and provincial ecology and forestry authorities will investigate and penalise violations.
V02 revises CCER-14-001-01 under the Measures for the Administration of Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Trading (Trial). It states who owns the reductions, what a new filing must attach, and how provincial authorities supervise registered projects. A project already registered under CCER-14-001-01 before November 9, 2026 stays on the original methodology.
What does CCER-14-001-V02 change for a new filing?
From November 9, 2026, a new afforestation project submitted to the national voluntary emission reduction registry must be designed, validated, accounted and verified under CCER-14-001-V02. The issuing text is MEE notice 环办气候函〔2026〕385号, which attaches the methodology.
Three conditions in the notice govern the filing. Emission reductions belong to the forest owner (林木所有权人). Title must be clear. The project owner must hold a written commitment from that forest owner that the stand will not be clear-cut during the project lifespan. Local ecology and forestry departments are told to bring eligible projects into the national market and to require a commitment, under the Trial Measures, that the project is unique and that the materials are true, complete and valid.
| Point | Before November 9, 2026 | From November 9, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Methodology for a new filing | CCER-14-001-01 | CCER-14-001-V02 |
| Who owns the reductions | Not restated in this notice | The forest owner |
| Owner differs from the project owner | Not restated in this notice | Ownership proof plus a transfer agreement |
| Clear-cutting | Not restated in this notice | No-clear-cutting commitment for the project lifespan |
| Already registered on V01 | CCER-14-001-01 | Stays on CCER-14-001-01 |
Who is covered, and who stays on CCER-14-001-01?
The notice covers the project owner, the forest owner when the two differ, the carbon asset firm that prepares the filing, and the verification body that validates the design and later verifies the reductions. Forest-right holders who lease land sit in the same chain: the reductions belong to the forest owner, so a lease does not move title unless the transfer agreement says so.
Grandfathering is narrow. A project already registered on the national registry and platform under CCER-14-001-01 before formal implementation continues on that methodology. A project designed but not yet registered on November 9, 2026 does not. The notice sets no extra window for applications in preparation.
What must the file contain by November 9, 2026?
An application accepted from November 9, 2026 applies V02 in the design and in the accounting. If the project owner is the forest owner, the file still shows clear title. If not, it contains the forest-ownership certificate and a transfer agreement for the reductions signed by both parties, plus the forest owner's written no-clear-cutting commitment for the project lifespan.
Verification bodies should treat those documents as conditions of a V02 validation. Provincial and municipal ecology departments, jointly with forestry authorities, inspect registered projects and certified volumes, receive public reports, and investigate breaches. Questions go to MEE's Department of Climate Change (010-65645679), the national registry at the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation (010-82268485), and NFGA's Department of Ecological Conservation and Restoration (010-84238509). The notice is copied to the State Administration for Market Regulation, provincial ecology and forestry authorities, the registry centre, and the Beijing Green Exchange.
What happens if the V02 conditions are missing?
A project that misses the methodology or the ownership conditions cannot be registered in the national CCER registry. Provincial and prefecture-level ecology authorities, with forestry authorities, investigate illegal conduct and report it. The notice states no fine amount. The consequence it states is refusal of registration, plus investigation and penalty by those authorities.
A developer whose project is still off the registry should confirm title, obtain the transfer agreement where the owner and the developer differ, collect the no-clear-cutting commitment, and rebuild the design on V02 before November 9, 2026. A project already registered on CCER-14-001-01 stays on that methodology. Continuous per-jurisdiction monitoring on Obsidian surfaces a methodology notice of this kind the moment MEE publishes it.
Match each afforestation project to one row: already registered on CCER-14-001-01, or still unregistered. For each unregistered project, name who will produce the ownership proof, the transfer agreement and the no-clear-cutting commitment, and tell the validation body that filings from November 9, 2026 are V02 only. Keep the October 10, 2026 notice as the controlling text until MEE or NFGA issues a further document.
