VM0047 Performance Benchmark Analysis
Overview
A comprehensive toolkit for conducting Performance Benchmark (PB) analysis according to the VM0047 methodology for carbon credit projects under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS). The toolkit is designed to be reusable and can be applied to any project area worldwide, covering six cooperatives in the initial implementation.
Standard: VCS / VM0047
Study Area: Multiple cooperatives (global)
Role: Lead analyst
Status: Completed
Repository: github.com/ulfboge/vm0047-pb-analysis-6-cooperatives
Methods & Tools
Data Sources
- Hansen Global Forest Change (GFC) — forest cover and loss
- MODIS land cover time series
- Administrative boundaries (geoBoundaries)
- Project AOI shapefiles
Processing Steps
- Define and buffer project area of interest
- Extract reference region following VM0047 spatial stratification rules
- Calculate historical deforestation rates within the reference region
- Apply VM0047 Performance Benchmark formula
- Export results with full documentation for verifier review
Tools Used
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Google Earth Engine | Large-scale forest cover analysis |
| Python / GeoPandas | Data wrangling and PB calculations |
| QGIS | Map production and spatial QA |
Key Findings
- Reusable workflow applicable to any global project area
- Standardized output format aligned with VM0047 verifier expectations
- Documented methodology traceable to GFC and MODIS source datasets