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Programme summary

Programme Factsheet

Version 2026-08Adopted 2026-08-24 · FD-2026-08-24English (Norwegian adoption banner)MCC_Programme_Factsheet_2026-08.md

Adopted by founder decision FD-2026-08-24; formal board ratification is the first item of business when the programme board is constituted. Published verbatim from the maintained corpus — changes occur only by amendment with a version bump.

Marine Conservation Credits — Programme Factsheet

Status: VEDTATT ved FD-2026-08-24 (styreratifisering utestående). Programmets eneste eksterne institusjonelle sammendrag; erstatter External Institutional Launch Pack v1.0, som er trukket. (Denne siden erstatter MCC_External_Institutional_Launch_Pack_v1.0, som trekkes. Hver påstand under er sann per utstedelsesdato og skal kunne verifiseres mot registeret eller korpuset.)

What MCC is

Marine Conservation Credits (MCC) is a standards and registry programme under development for verified marine conservation outcomes. MCC writes the methodologies, operates the registry, and will oversee independent validation and verification of projects in five methodology families — blue carbon, ecosystem restoration, fisheries, pollution prevention, and marine protected area management.

MCC credits are issued under a contribution-first framework: retiring an MCC credit is a documented contribution to marine conservation. It is not an offset, and buyers cannot use MCC retirements to support claims of carbon neutrality or net zero. Permitted claim language is defined in the programme's claims framework and enforced at the point of retirement.

Where the programme stands today

The rulebook is written. The standards series — charter and constitution, programme standard, methodology framework, VVB accreditation and performance, governance and appeals, registry operations, and AI governance — exists in consolidated draft form, together with seven counterparty policy documents and cross-cutting policies for safeguards, buffer pool management, corresponding adjustments, host-country authorisation, and sustainable development contributions. The adopting instrument is founder decision FD-2026-08-24; formal board ratification follows upon constitution of the board and will be published through the transparency layer.

The registry platform is operational in demonstration mode. The full pathway — project submission, AI-assisted completeness screening with mandatory human review, stakeholder consultation, issuance with serialised units, transfer, and retirement with public certificates — runs end to end against demonstration data. Every demonstration project, batch, and unit is explicitly labelled as such, in the interface and in the serial number itself (MCC-DEMO- prefix). No real project is registered, no real credit has been issued, and no verification body is yet accredited. The registry says so on every relevant surface, and the public API excludes demonstration data by default.

Verification is being contracted. The VVB accreditation pack — application form, assessment manual, and requirements — is complete, and outreach to candidate validation and verification bodies begins in the current quarter. Validation of the first real project can begin once the first VVB is accredited and contracted; MCC's standard allows 120–150 business days for validation.

The first real project is in preparation. The lead pilot is a ghost-gear recovery project in the Gulf of Gabès, Tunisia, developed with a Tunisian university partner. Its project design documentation is in drafting; host-country dialogue is being opened. First verified issuance is targeted for 2027, and the date will be governed by verification and authorisation timelines — not announced ahead of them.

What makes the programme distinct

  • Ocean-native methodologies. Rules written for marine ecosystems from the start — tidal dynamics, salinity, water-column processes, and the soil-carbon pathways of mangrove, seagrass, and kelp systems.
  • Conservation units beyond carbon. The MCC-MCU credit class quantifies biodiversity, habitat, and ecosystem outcomes on their own terms, for buyers reporting under TNFD and GBF frameworks where carbon-equivalence is not the relevant unit.
  • Contribution-first by construction. The prohibition on offset and neutrality claims is not a policy overlay; it is enforced in the registry at retirement.
  • AI-assisted, human-final review. AI screens submissions for completeness and consistency and flags anomalies in satellite monitoring; every decision that moves a project or a credit is made by an accountable human, and the governance standard forbids anything else.
  • A registry built to be audited. Serialised units with tamper-evident check digits, database-enforced lifecycle transitions, immutable audit logging, and default-public records.

Reference frameworks

MCC methodologies and governance procedures are designed against the Paris Agreement Article 6, the ICVCM Core Carbon Principles, IPCC Tier 2/3 guidance including the 2013 Wetlands Supplement, ISO 14064/14065, and the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. References indicate technical alignment only. MCC holds no ICVCM CCP label, no CRCF approval, and no eligibility determination from any external body, and claims none until formal external assessment has been completed.

Corporate structure

The platform is currently held under a Luxembourg-domiciled company as a transitional arrangement. The intended structure is a Norwegian aksjeselskap with three-way ownership — founders, investors, and a university foundation — with a defined path for the foundation to become the long-term owner and operator of the programme. Incorporation decisions rest with the founding board and will be announced when made.

Contact

Marine Conservation Credits · info@marineconservationcredits.com · www.marineconservationcredits.com

Endringslogg-notat (internt): Dette faktaarket er skrevet 24.08.2026 som ærlig erstatning for MCC_External_Institutional_Launch_Pack_v1.0 etter regelverksrevisjonen samme dato (funn: godkjennings- og driftspåstander uten dekning). Ingen tall her krever oppdatering ved endring i demodata; datoer og statuser oppdateres ved milepæler.