How asset managers and investors can identify legitimate carbon assets. The voluntary carbon credit market has recently come under fire for selling "junk" carbon offsets that don't actually provide additional emissions reductions, make exaggerated claims or inflate basic calculations. Analysis from The Guardian based in the UK, found that 78 % offset projects were "probably unsolicited", with the rest "potentially unsolicited" or of undetermined effectiveness. Carbon offsets offer credits to combat carbon emissions on a tonne-by-ton basis and are permanently phased out after use. They are one of the ways for society to become carbon neutral. Investment companies have also used carbon credits to offset the carbon footprint of their investment portfolio. (Jonathan Got, more at investmentexecutive.com)

What is the size of the voluntary carbon market? In an effort to limit climate change, major companies such as Microsoft, Google and Starbucks are setting ambitious goals to achieve carbon neutrality, and the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) is helping them achieve this.

VCM gives companies, non-profit organizations, governments and individuals the ability to buy and sell carbon offset credits. A carbon offset is a tool that represents a reduction in carbon dioxide or greenhouse gas emissions by one metric ton.

To put this into perspective, to capture one tonne of CO2 emissions, you would need to plant around 50 trees in one year ¹.

Companies that are unable to meet their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions targets can purchase carbon offset credits by investing in environmental projects that can prevent, reduce or eliminate carbon emissions.

For example, an airline that wants to be carbon neutral can calculate how much carbon emissions it can't get rid of. They can then buy an equivalent amount of carbon offset credits by investing in a regenerative agriculture project in Brazil using VCM. The airline can thus claim carbon neutrality.

From 2022, the actual voluntary carbon market is estimated to be around $2 billion. (Jennifer L. Carboncredits.com )

Red Trail Energy (RTE) in partnership with Puro.earth has announced the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) credits on the Puro Registry. This is a significant milestone as the first ethanol facility to generate CO2 Removal Certificates (CORCs) on the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM).

The initiative also represents the largest permanent carbon removal project on record to date. Red Trail Energy will make its CORC available through its marketing arm RPMG. (Jennifer L, carboncredits.com)

Businesses are increasingly under pressure from society to address climate change, promote corporate social responsibility and commit to zero net emissions. One way they can do this is by buying carbon credits from projects that reduce or eliminate climate emissions.

In the area of carbon markets, carbon credits are primarily traded within the voluntary carbon market (hereinafter VCM). In this article, we take a closer look at this market segment and divide our discussion into six sections:

• differences between VCM and CCM
• the main market participants within the VCM
• prices and supply/demand dynamics
• main market investments by project type
• shortcomings of VCM
• Ongoing improvements to VCM

(More on illuminem.com)

A voluntary carbon market is a market where carbon credits can be bought and sold to offset emissions. This blog focuses on the various legal systems it governs, including established standards, project creators, certification bodies, sellers and buyers, as well as technical developments such as AI and blockchain. We will emphasize the importance of an organized and clear regulatory environment to promote trust and informed decision-making. The industry allows people, companies and other entities to voluntarily purchase carbon offsets or credits to offset their greenhouse gas emissions. Unlike compliance markets, which are mandated by international agreements or government regulations, participation in VCMI it is voluntary. This proactive step helps reduce the carbon footprint and supports initiatives to combat climate change, promote sustainable energy, reforestation and carbon reduction programs towards global climate goals. (FloCard, www.linkedin.com) 

One of the most contentious issues facing the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) on climate change last December was a proposal to create a carbon credit trading market under UN sanctions. Such a mechanism would allow nations and industries that make slow progress in reducing their own carbon emissions to pay others for emission-reduction measures, such as improving energy efficiency or protecting forests.

Such trading schemes have already grown into a multi-billion dollar market despite the lack of clear international regulations to define and monitor claimed emission reductions. During weeks of frantic negotiations, some states, including the US, advocated a slightly looser approach to regulations in order to get the system in place quickly. Others, including the European Union, have argued for much stricter regulation given the history of controversial or even counterproductive projects of this kind in the past. In the end, there was no agreement on this topic, which will be reviewed at a later meeting. (David L. Chandler, more at news.mit.edu)

Almost every economist agrees that the most effective, efficient, cheapest, flexible and fair way to make a significant dent in CO2 emissions is to put a price on carbon (viac…)

This year, the European price of carbon emission allowances is falling as the energy system in the region decarbonises at a rapid pace, states Bloomberg agency. The price of CO emission allowances ₂ within the EU ETS, on February 26, it was approximately EUR 54/t. Although the market has rallied this week, it is still about 43 % lower than a year ago.

The trend comes as a surprise to experts as Europe's emissions trading system is set to strengthen in the coming years as the EU works to reach zero emissions by 2050.

However, the decarbonisation of the region's energy system is progressing rapidly, reducing the demand for carbon credits and thus leading to lower prices. (Halina Jermolenko, more at gmk.center)

In related news, negotiators from the Council and the European Parliament reached an interim agreement on an EU-level certification framework for permanent carbon removal, agriculture and carbon sequestration in products. The Voluntary Framework aims to facilitate and accelerate the deployment of high-quality carbon sequestration and land emission reduction activities across the EU.

The regulation will contain an inclusive definition of carbon removal aligned with the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which includes the removal of atmospheric or biogenic carbon.

It will include various carbon removal and emission reduction activities, which are divided into four different types of units: permanent carbon removal, which involves storing atmospheric or biogenic carbon for several centuries; and temporary carbon storage in long-life products such as wood-based building products. (Sidhi Mittal, more at edie.net)

Wooden houses and sturdy furniture could soon receive potentially lucrative EU certification for their supposed role in reducing atmospheric CO2, but green groups fear new carbon accounting rules will do little to protect forests and facilitate corporate greenwashing.

MEPs and government negotiators agreed on the provisional text of the new Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF) in the early hours of Tuesday (February 20th) after protracted behind-the-scenes negotiations in Brussels. "It will encourage private investment and develop voluntary carbon markets, while respecting climate integrity and preventing greenwashing," said Lidia Pereira (Portugal/EPP), who led the European Parliament team.

Under the agreement, to be considered permanent carbon removal, the sequestered CO2 must be disposed of in a way that is expected to keep it out of the atmosphere for at least several centuries. In the case of current industrial carbon capture and storage (CCS) pilot projects, it involves pumping it under the seabed in depleted offshore oil and gas fields. (Robert Hodgson, more at euronews.com)

Regardless of where they come from, greenhouse gas emissions make climate change more dangerous for the whole (viac…)

Tokenized green financial products are revolutionizing sustainable investing. By combining blockchain technology and green finance, these innovative tools offer new opportunities to support environmentally friendly projects.

This article begins by examining green financial products. He then explains how blockchains can be used to record and share data, how tokens can be used to raise capital for green projects, how decentralized physical infrastructure networks or DePINs can be used to grow green projects, and as a platform for trading virtual assets. it can facilitate liquidity and unlock value for green financial products. (Jonathan Gill, HashKey Group, more at cdotrends.com)

The Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) faced significant challenges in 2023, leading to an ongoing review (viac…)

Europe's nature-based credit markets are young but growing. They represent a unique opportunity for investors seeking exposure to high-quality credit backed by strong fundamentals.

The Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) came under scrutiny last year due to criticism of some REDD+ projects and methodologies. Overall, the volumes of loans traded decreased by 51 %, but the market value remained at just under USD 2 billion thanks to the sharp increase in prices. At SLM Partners, we are pleased that buyers of VCM carbon credits are becoming more sophisticated, distinguishing between credits by project type and location, and are willing to pay for quality.

Within this development, European nature credits are in an advantageous position for several reasons. ( More on environmental-finance.com )

In an unprecedented move, tokenized trading project Neutral has partnered with German brokerage firm DLT Finance to develop an exchange platform carbon credits  based on blockchain. Carbon credits are financial instruments that allow businesses to offset carbon emissions by investing in environmental initiatives such as forests and renewable energy programs. The venture represents a significant advance in this field as it has received regulatory approval from Germany's financial regulator BaFin, cementing its status as the first blockchain-backed carbon credit exchange to be so permitted.

Integrating blockchain with traditional trading

This exchange is the brainchild of Neutral's CEO, Farouq Ghandour, and has been designed to fit seamlessly into the operations of traditional traders. (Israel Ojoko, more at bnnbreaking.com)

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) has reached a new milestone, announcing its plan to assess more than 100 active carbon credit methodologies for compliance with the high integrity Core Carbon Principles (CCP). The first decisions on these assessments should be delivered by the end of March. An expert group, including members of the Integrity Council's board of directors, its expert panel and external stakeholders, categorized similar carbon credit methodologies into 36 different groups. Groups will undergo three types of assessments based on their complexity and issues.

It was last August that the ICVCM published its long-awaited evaluation framework. (Jennifer L, carboncredits.com)

Voluntary carbon markets have had a turbulent few years. All market players – including buyers, traders, certifiers and project developers – hit by a number of high-profile allegations of “greenwashing” in relation to “unsound” carbon credits that should not be trusted to deliver the promised climate, environmental and social benefits – have faced intense control. Consequently some companies were left more hesitant to participate in the market , with a combination of concerns about reputational damage, fatigue from the growing bureaucracy associated with the new standards and pressure to focus on reducing emissions at the source serving to dampen demand. in some neighborhoods.

But under such enormous pressure to improve confidence in the market, work is ongoing to strengthen the framework for supervision, guidance and certification. As a result, there is now a growing sense within the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) that the supply of high-integrity credits is increasing and the sector is rapidly shedding its former "Wild West" reputation. (Michael Holder)

Carbon credit je tool  representing the avoidance, reduction or elimination of atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHG), measured in tons equivalent of carbon dioxide (t CO 2 e). There are three main outcomes of projects generating carbon credits:  

• Prevention emissions, for example by preventing deforestation and forest degradation (REDD + ) . 
• Reduced emissions, for example by restoring peatlands . 
• ABOUT removal and sequestering CO 2 , for example by direct air capture or reforestation  

They exist three types of carbon markets , on which is traded in carbon credits, one of them is  unregulated voluntary carbon market  (VCM)  , where are you individuals or companies  they claim credits for your own voluntary climate commitments.  Evidenceon low prices and mixed credit integritythey ledkconcerns the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), thatbusinessesthey can despite yours uncertainty to use compensation like compensation for direct reducing emissions.

The effectiveness of carbon credits is affected by their integrity, which is evidence that globally the amounts of emissions that can be avoided or reduced are overestimated. There are several initiatives that seek to address issues related to the integrity of carbon credits, such as the Oxford Principles,  the Science Based Targets initiative and the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative. (Jonathan Wentworth)