Carbon market news

Verra’s plan to review carbon credits faster with fewer staff raises integrity concerns (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

Verra's new CEO said that "faster does not equal to compromise on integrity" - but independent carbon market experts are sceptical

• Voluntary market
• Policy and regulation

UN approves carbon market safeguards to protect environment and human rights (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

Developers of carbon credit projects will have to carry out a risk assessment and minimise any social or environmental impacts

Guyana’s carbon-credit deal to protect forests undermines its forest protectors (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

Guyana’s Indigenous communities are under siege from all sides - including an opaque carbon-offsetting scheme agreed by the government on our lands

• Voluntary market

Amazon state that will host COP30 strikes “largest carbon credit sale in history” (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

A coalition of governments and multinational corporations promises to pay Pará state $180m to save its rainforest

Verra axing of Shell’s rice-farming carbon credits in China fuels integrity fears (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

The carbon market standard found "serious" quality issues with the projects, prompting questions about their initial approval

• China
• Voluntary market

Renewable-energy carbon credits rejected by high-integrity scheme (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market decided existing renewables methodologies don't do enough to prove their emissions reductions are additional

• Voluntary market

US government backs the carbon credit industry’s push to fix itself (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

The Biden administration throws its weight behind the industry's attempts to boost integrity in the beleaguered market

• North America

UN agrees carbon market safeguards to tackle green land grabs (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

Local communities will be able to officially challenge UN-registered carbon credit projects before and after they are up and running

Fossil fuel firms seek UN carbon market cash for old gas plants (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

Fossil fuel companies that built gas power plants more than a decade ago are hoping for rewards from a new carbon credit market

• Article 6

“Shameful”: Shell uses carbon credits under investigation to meet climate targets (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

The oil and gas giant offset part of its emissions with over a million credits from Chinese projects suspended because of integrity concerns

Junk offset sellers push to enter new UN carbon market (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

Renewable energy schemes make up four-fifths of Kyoto-era projects hoping to keep selling offsets under Article 6, sparking concerns over the credibility of the new market.

• Article 6

Four questions for Cop28 to settle about a global carbon market (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

As carbon credits face intense scrutiny, negotiators will wrangle over how to ensure the integrity of a new global carbon market

Meet the Italian fugitive advising Emirati start-up Blue Carbon (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

Samuele Landi has been convicted for bankruptcy fraud in Italy. That was no problem for the UAE firm doing forest carbon credit deals across Africa.

Slow start for Indonesia’s much-hyped carbon market (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

Since President Widodo launched Indonesia's exchange two months ago, there's been barely any trading of carbon credits

• Asia-Pacific

Exposed: carbon offsets linked to high forest loss still on sale (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

Project owners in Cambodia and Brazil are selling carbon offsets to Uber, Marathon and ArcelorMittal despite an uptick in deforestation

• Latin America
• Voluntary market

A wolf in sheep’s clothing: why Africa should shun carbon markets (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

Turning Africa into a source of carbon credits will benefit polluters and middlemen, not most Africans and not the planet

UAE pitches itself as Africa’s carbon credits leader (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

An Emirati coalition has announced a $450 million commitment to buy carbon credits generated in Africa but critics called offsets a "risky diversion"

Cooking the books: cookstove offsets produce millions of fake emission cuts (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

Projects in India linked to Enking, the self-proclaimed world's largest carbon credits producer, have vastly overestimated climate benefits

As Guyana shows, carbon offsets will not save the Amazon rainforest (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

With all their flaws, carbon offsets are not the solution to deforestation of the Amazon rainforest - leaders should acknowledge that

• Voluntary market

Carbon credits touted as saviour of coal-to-clean energy deals (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

The scheme aims to fund the coal-to-clean energy transition in emerging economies like Indonesia but experts warn the fine print is key

• Asia-Pacific

World Bank set to take on risk of insuring carbon credits amid market upheaval (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

As a growing number of developing countries tighten control over carbon markets, MIGA plans to step in to provide political risk insurance and facilitate investments.

Verra boss steps down after criticism of its carbon credits (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

The carbon credit certifier has both grown rapidly and faced mounting integrity accusations during outgoing CEO's tenure.

• Voluntary market

Verra’s revamped forest offset programme comes under fire (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

Verra picked a controversial carbon credit verifier to review its new forest offset rules and critics say the changes don't fix the problem

• Voluntary market

Carbon credit industry resists vulnerable nations’ call to fund adaptation (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

New carbon credit guidelines do not recommend a mandatory levy to fund adaptation despite calls from vulnerable countries and experts

Consultants close to industry shaped Australia’s controversial carbon credit policy (opens Climate Home News in a new tab)

The government commissioned advice from expensive consultants from EY, a company that had also worked with carbon offsetters and the fossil fuel industry.

• Asia-Pacific