Digital Certification
Implement Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcome (ITMO) certificates using W3C Verifiable Credentials
Overview
The W3C Verifiable Credential (VC) standard provides a framework for creating machine-verifiable, tamper-resistant ITMO (Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcome) certificates for carbon trading and cross-border climate initiatives. ITMOs are standardized units representing greenhouse gas emission reductions that can be transferred between countries under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement. This guide explains how to implement ITMO certificates and use the accompanying JSON-LD context.
Key Benefits
- Cryptographic Trust - Signatures ensure authenticity and detect tampering
- Global Standards - W3C format enables cross-platform compatibility
- Extensible Design - JSON-LD approach allows adding properties without breaking changes
- Privacy Controls - Selective disclosure of sensitive transaction details
- Provenance Tracking - Built-in support for tracking credential history
Schema Structure
Each ITMO credential contains:
The credentialSubject
contains four main ITMO-specific sections:
authorizationInfo
- Authorization details and participating partiesndcQuantification
- NDC sectors, sources, and GHG informationcorrespondingAdjustments
- Adjustment calculations and emissions dataenvironmentalIntegrity
- Environmental integrity metrics and compliance
JSON-LD Context
Setup
Add the ITMO and required contexts to your credential:
Core Properties
The ITMO context defines these key sections:
Authorization Information
authorizationReference
- Reference ID for the authorizationcooperativeApproachDuration
- Time period of the approachexpectedMitigationOutcomes
- Expected outcomes by yearparticipatingParties
- List of participating countriesauthorizedEntities
- List of authorized entity DIDs
NDC Quantification
ndcSectors
- Covered sectors (e.g., “Residential”)ndcSources
- Emission sourcesndcGHGs
- Covered greenhouse gasesndcTimePeriods
- Relevant time periodsndcReferenceLevel
- Reference emission levelsndcTargetLevel
- Target emission levels
Corresponding Adjustments
singleYearNDC
- Single year NDC flagmultiYearNDC
- Multi year NDC flagemissionsTrajectory
- Emissions trajectory dataannualCorrespondingAdjustments
- Annual adjustment valuesaverageAnnualITMOs
- Average annual ITMO amountcumulativeAdjustments
- Cumulative adjustment total
Environmental Integrity
environmentalIntegrityMetrics
- Used metrics (e.g., “CO2e”)ipccMethodologiesReference
- IPCC methodology referencepartyStatusUnderParis
- Paris Agreement statustrackingArrangements
- Links to tracking systemsmostRecentNationalInventory
- Latest inventory reference
Implementation Example
Here’s a minimal example of creating an ITMO credential:
Validation Requirements
Technical checks:
- JSON-LD context validation
- Schema conformance
- Cryptographic proof verification
- Credential status verification
Business rules:
- Required ITMO fields present
- Valid participating parties
- Environmental integrity compliance
- NDC alignment verification
Security and Privacy
Security Best Practices
- Use Ed25519 signatures for proofs
- Implement proper key management
- Regular credential status updates
- Monitor for revoked credentials
Privacy Guidelines
- Enable selective disclosure of sensitive data
- Implement minimal disclosure principle
- Define clear data retention policies
- Comply with relevant privacy regulations
Resources
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