The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said the measures establish rules covering the development, registration and monitoring of voluntary forest carbon projects and lay the groundwork for a credible domestic carbon market.
Environment Assistant Secretary for Integrated Management System and Information Systems Daniel Darius Nicer presented the policies at a high-level roundtable on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Market roadmap
The first policy adopts the Philippines’ Readiness in the Voluntary Forest Carbon Market Roadmap for 2026 to 2030.
The roadmap sets the national direction for policy development, measurement, reporting and verification systems, data management and registry readiness—all considered important in determining whether carbon credits can be reliably measured and tracked.
“To date, the Philippines, through its Department of Environment and Natural Resources, issued two major policy instruments that establish the foundations of a credible forest carbon market directly addressing private sector expectations for clear rules, credible safeguards, and transparent project pathways,” Nicer said.
He spoke during the “Shaping High-Integrity Carbon Markets” session convened by the Coalition to Grow Carbon Markets and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development during Climate Week NYC.
Project safeguards
The second policy establishes national guidelines for the creation, registration and monitoring of voluntary forest carbon credit projects.
The rules require environmental safeguards, compliance with Free, Prior and Informed Consent and benefit-sharing with communities. They also mandate transparent project registration, which the DENR said would help reduce reputational and delivery risks for carbon credit buyers.
“For the Philippines, carbon markets—both voluntary and compliance pathways—are central to our strategy for accelerating mitigation and unlocking climate finance,” Nicer said.
“But for markets to function, the private sector needs clarity, predictability, and confidence that the credits they purchase are real, additional, and backed by strong governance.”
Carbon framework
The forest policies form part of wider government efforts to develop the country's carbon market infrastructure.
Nicer cited Department of Energy guidelines for renewable energy projects, the Philippine Carbon Market Policy Framework and the rollout of the Philippine National Carbon Registry.
The registry is intended to provide accounting and traceability of carbon credits and prevent double counting.
Nicer said Philippine policies are also being aligned with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement through bilateral arrangements, including an implementation agreement with Singapore and the Joint Crediting Mechanism with Japan.
Looking ahead to the COP31 climate summit, he called for stronger international guidance on market infrastructure and supply-side integrity for forest and blue carbon ecosystems.
“High-integrity markets should not only accelerate global ambition, but also deliver real, measurable mitigation outcomes that directly benefit and reach the communities, ecosystems, and sectors that need them most,” Nicer said. — Ed: Corrie S. Narisma
