MCC-200 Methodology Framework — Amendment 1: Alignment with the canonical taxonomy and the registry portfolio (v2.0 → v2.1)

Instrument: Amendment to MCC-200 Methodology Framework v2.0 (Tier 4; Standards Committee approval with peer review and 30 days' public consultation, MCC-001 cl. 0082) Status: v0.1 DRAFT 25 August 2026 — NOT ADOPTED. Put to 30 days' public consultation on 26 August 2026 by the programme administration under FD-2026-08-24 item 3; referral by the Governing Board, acting for the Standards Committee (MCC-700 §10.1.1), is Item 4.3 of its constituting meeting of the same date (GB-2026-001). Adoption is a separate decision after the consultation closes, taken together with SC-2026-001. Basis: FD-2026-08-24 items D5, D6, D11, D12, D14, D15; Definitions Register v1.0; MCC-100 v2.2 cl. 0167, 0183.1–0183.2; rulebook audit K3; SC-2026-001

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Amendments

A1.1 — cl. 0011–0016, family definitions (item D5). Replace with:

0011 MCC methodologies are organised in five methodology families (Definitions Register v1.0 §2): 0012 MCC-F01 Blue Carbon — mangrove, seagrass, salt marsh, tidal wetland and coastal peat restoration and conservation (MCC-CC). 0013 MCC-F02 Ecosystem Restoration — coral reef, kelp forest and oyster reef restoration (MCC-HYB). 0014 MCC-F03 Fisheries — sustainable fisheries and aquaculture and habitat protection delivered through fisheries management (MCC-MCU). 0015 MCC-F04 Pollution Prevention — ghost gear, plastic and marine debris recovery and prevention, nutrient and chemical pollution prevention (MCC-MCU). 0016 MCC-F05 MPA Management — establishment, expansion and improved management of marine protected areas (MCC-HYB).

A1.2 — cl. 0017–0022, credit-type mapping (items D6, D12). Replace 0018–0022 with: "0018 MCC-F01 → MCC-CC. 0019 MCC-F02 → MCC-HYB. 0020 MCC-F03 → MCC-MCU. 0021 MCC-F04 → MCC-MCU. 0022 MCC-F05 → MCC-HYB. Credit types are defined in MCC-100 cl. 0167 and the Definitions Register v1.0; an MCC-MCU carries no climate claim." (v2.0 mapped F03 to MCC-HYB and F05 to MCC-MCU, contradicting its own cl. 0031.1 and MCC-100 cl. 0183.1.)

A1.3 — cl. 0031.2, flow families (item D6). "MCC-F03 (Fisheries — MCC-MCU avoided emissions) and MCC-F04 (Marine Pollution Prevention — MCC-MCU avoided emissions) shall not apply a permanence horizon, as avoided fuel/methane emissions (F03) and avoided decomposition emissions (F04) are flow measures and not stored carbon" → "MCC-F03 and MCC-F04 issue MCC-MCU units quantified on the non-carbon basis each methodology defines (for MCC-M008: mass of recovered and documented gear, FD-2026-08-24 item D6); they are flow outcomes without a permanence horizon (MCC-100 cl. 0183.2). Where an F03 methodology quantifies avoided fuel emissions as a co-benefit, that quantity is reported, not credited, unless the methodology is approved for MCC-HYB."

A1.4 — Section 9, cl. 0117–0123 and the portfolio table (items D14, D15). Delete the "locked portfolio of ten" and its table; replace with:

0117 The MCC methodology portfolio is the set of methodologies recorded in the MCC Methodology Registry with their status (DRAFT, UNDER_REVIEW, APPROVED, SUSPENDED, RETIRED), family, credit type, version and approval reference. The Registry is the authoritative list; this Framework does not enumerate it. 0118 A methodology may be retired by the Standards Committee under Section 8 with at least 180 days' public notice (cl. 0115), or by the Governing Board where the retirement forms part of a programme-wide decision recorded in a decision instrument. 0119 Retirement of MCC-M004, MCC-M005 and MCC-M006 by FD-2026-08-24 item D14 is confirmed; cl. 0118 as it read in v2.0 (24-month notice for "locked" methodologies) does not apply to them, no project having been registered under any of the three. 0120 [deleted] · 0121 unchanged (unique code, name, family, credit type, module set, status) · 0122 unchanged · 0123 "The portfolio shall be reviewed annually by the Standards Committee…" Note the naming conflict resolved by this deletion: v2.0 cl. 0120 named M003 "Kelp Forest Cultivation and Sequestration"; the Registry names it "Saltmarsh Conservation & Rehabilitation". Under SC-2026-001 the codes M001–M003 are confirmed only at approval of their texts.

A1.5 — cl. 0108–0109, thresholds (item D11). "simple majority of members present" (0108) unchanged; 0109 "75% supermajority" → "two-thirds of votes cast"; "Methodology Review Committee" → "Standards Committee (MCC-700 §4.2)" throughout, MCC-700 being the sole governance architecture.

A1.6 — cl. 0009. "Locked methodologies (M001–M010) shall be identified in Section 9 and shall form the foundation of the MCC credit system" → "Approved methodologies are recorded in the MCC Methodology Registry (Section 9)."

A1.7 — cl. 0034 and Section 3 (approval). Unchanged in substance; add to 0040: "The peer-review report and the consultation closing protocol are published with the approval decision."

A1.8 — Editorial. Family names in the table under cl. 0022 and in cl. 0031.1–0031.3 aligned to A1.1; "MCC-F02 (Restoration)" and "MCC-F05 (MPA Management)" already read correctly in 0031.1 and are retained.

Process

Standards Committee (Board acting in its stead) at the constituting meeting, sak 4, together with SC-2026-001; 30 days' consultation on /consultations (Tier 4); external peer review of A1.3 (the only substantive quantification statement) may be satisfied by the Standards Committee's determination under Guidance Errata No. 1 Part E; adoption → MCC-200 v2.1 with change log; v2.0 archived.

Change log — v0.1 UTKAST (25 Aug 2026): first issue, prepared under FD-2026-08-24 item 3.