Voluntary markets need improved transparency to restore trust
Number of transactions in voluntary carbon offsets market has fallen dramatically since critical media reports, says Climate Crisis Advisory Group
There is a critical need for enhanced scientific rigour and better transparency in the operation of voluntary carbon markets (VCMs), according to a new report from independent thinktank Climate Crisis Advisory Group (CCAG). VCMs have taken a reputational hit following a series of investigative newspaper reports in 2023 claiming that many credits sold did not represent genuine carbon reductions. “The number of transactions and the money going into the system basically halved in the 12 months following these reports,” Mark Maslin, a professor at UCL and one of the authors of the CCAG report, told Carbon Economist in an interview. “But we have to pursue every solution there is to try and get gl

Also in this section
22 July 2025
Sinopec hosts launch of global sharing platform as Beijing looks to draw on international investors and expertise
22 July 2025
Africa’s most populous nation puts cap-and-trade and voluntary markets at the centre of its emerging strategy to achieve net zero by 2060
17 July 2025
Oil and gas companies will face penalties if they fail to reach the EU’s binding CO₂ injection targets for 2030, but they could also risk building underused and unprofitable CCS infrastructure
9 July 2025
Latin American country plans a cap-and-trade system and supports the scale-up of CCS as it prepares to host COP30