Exam Payment & Registration Process:
  1. If you are not an ACCO premium member and have not already paid for an exam package, select a pricing package and process your payment (credit cards and PayPal accepted).
  2. Sign and submit the Non-Disclosure Agreement to exams@ACCOonline.org.
  3. Submit a request to access the exam(s) when you are prepared to take the exam(s).
  4. ACCO will send you instructions on how to access each exam.
  5. Once you begin an exam module, you will have 45 minutes to complete that module (unless otherwise stated in the instructions you receive).
  6. Upon completion of each exam, you will receive the results on the exam site (ACCO will also maintain records of all test results).
  7. After completing all four exam modules and elective requirements, you can proceed with submitting your application and supporting materials.

ACCO has simplified the process for you to earn the Certified Climate Change Professional® (CC-P®) credential. With 4 exam modules, you can plan and map your progress toward becoming a Certified Climate Change Professional® (CC-P®) today!

  1. Climate Science & Vulnerability Assessment

  2. GHG, Energy & Water Management

  3. Governance, Law & Policy

  4. Materiality, Risk Management & Economics

Showcase yourself as a climate smart professional with the capacity to develop and implement climate action plans. 

Exam Topics & Recommended Prep Materials

You are not required to take any courses in advance of these exams, though ACCO has listed recommended prep materials for each exam module.  The following information provides a short description, focal points and recommended prep materials for each exam module. Exams must be completed within one year of the date in which participant’s final CC-P® application is submitted (i.e. exams that fall outside the one-year window will be deemed expired and must be retaken).

Assesses your understanding of climate science and the capacity to conduct vulnerability assessments and inform organizational or regional decision making with critical resources.

  • Distinguishing between weather, climate variability, and climate change

  • Recent decadal-scale changes in climate and their impacts

  • Climate forcings, their relative importance and certainty

  • Sea-level rise and implications for coastal communities

  • Climate change projections, major impacts and corresponding certainty

  • Scientific studies on public opinion

  • Identifying climate-related hazards

  • Leveraging available data, tools, and technology to perform a vulnerability assessment

  • Designing and implementing a vulnerability assessment

Recommended prep materials:
Climate-101, Climate-103 & Climate-201

Estimated prep time:
6-7 hours

Exam time limit:
40 minutes

Examines your grasp of greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting, related reporting, and the role of GHG and natural resource management in an organization's operations.

  • Value of conducting a GHG inventory

  • Accounting for GHG emissions and understanding common protocols

  • Common regulatory and voluntary reporting frameworks

  • Boundaries for accounting and reporting

  • Collecting, measuring, reporting and disclosing GHG emissions

  • Driving operational improvements/change

  • Inventory verification and accuracy

  • Energy-water-food system interdependencies

  • Implications of climate change on natural resources

  • Understanding the methods available for developing targets

  • Structures of GHG reduction goals (absolute vs. intensity, etc.)

Recommended prep materials:
GHG-101, GHG-102 & GHG-201

Estimated prep time:
6-7 hours

Exam time limit:
45 minutes

Tests your comprehension of fundamentals of organizational change and stakeholder engagement best practices, as well as the current international and North American climate policy landscapes.

  • Fundamentals of organizational and behavioral change strategies and tactics

  • Identifying strategic internal and external stakeholders

  • Understanding motivations/values and mobilizing action

  • Understanding organizational structures and processes

  • Establishing a framework for driving systemic change in climate action

  • Fostering a culture of adaptive capacity within an organization

  • Awareness of international, national and local legal/policy landscape on climate change

  • Understanding of common policy measures and regulatory tools

Recommended prep materials:
Governance-101, Governance-102 & Governance-103

Estimated prep time:
6-7 hours

Exam time limit:
40 minutes

Evaluates your understanding of materiality considerations and capacity to implement climate risk management practices. Additionally, gauges your awareness of the economic implications of climate change and ability to account for opportunities and risks.

  • Categorizing and analyzing climate change related impacts

  • Materiality and the value of the materiality assessment process

  • Fundamentals of economic theories and concepts and climate change impacts on global economies and markets

  • Quantifying climate related implications

  • Accounting for the economics and future prices of energy, water, air, and other natural resources

  • Cost/benefit analysis of climate action (or inaction)

  • Collecting and integrating information from a variety of sources

  • Leveraging tools, methods and techniques for mapping vulnerabilities and quantifying climate change impacts

Recommended prep materials:
Climate-201, Enterprise-201 & Economics-101

Estimated prep time:
7-8 hours

Exam time limit:
40 minutes