Demand for low-quality offsets by major companies undermines climate integrity of the VCM

For this study, the researchers focused on the twenty companies retiring the most offsets from the voluntary carbon market between 2020 and 2023. Published in Nature Communications in August 2024, the study questioned whether their offsets could be considered high quality. NOTE: The ICVCM’s Core Carbon Principles set a framework to assess quality, signalling a move to higher standards across the market. This study concluded that many credits are low quality and that 87% are unlikely to create additional emission reductions.