MSCI released its Understanding Carbon Markets guide in December 2024. It explains how compliance and voluntary carbon markets work, the role of high-quality carbon credits, and how investors and companies use them to meet climate goals. It aims to equip stakeholders to engage effectively with carbon markets and drive global decarbonization.
The State of the Blue Carbon Market report highlights the potential of coastal ecosystems (mangroves, seagrasses, salt marshes) in climate mitigation. Published by Ecosystem Marketplace in October 2024, it says that despite challenges like high costs and regulatory hurdles, the market for blue carbon credits is growing. Scaling up through better financing and policy support is key to unlocking their potential.
This report, published in March 2025 by AlliedOffsets, projects steady growth for the voluntary carbon market. It expects retirements to reach one billion tons and market value to hit $40 billion by 2040. However, it predicts low prices until 2032, followed by rising demand and higher prices driven by improved credit quality and market shifts.
Published in April 2025, the AlliedOffsets and Planet 2050 SF₆ Report highlights the extent of sulfur hexafluoride’s climate impact and its overlooked role in carbon markets. It calls for greater focus on SF₆ reduction through new technologies, policies, and inclusion in global climate strategies.
Released in April 2025, Opna’s Impact Framework helps assess carbon removal (CDR) projects beyond carbon capture. It evaluates five key areas: carbon, innovation, social, economic and environmental impacts. The framework supports the building of custom climate strategies, ensuring measurable outcomes, and de-risking carbon removal investments.
Serena Capital and Nature4Climate partnered to produce the VC Funding Trends in Nature Tech report in April 2025. It highlights how nature tech startups experienced a 16 percent rise in venture capital investments compared to 2023, with the total investment reaching $2.1 billion in 2024. Early-stage funding is growing, with the U.S. and Europe leading investment trends in nature tech. Key sectors include food and agriculture, biodiversity credits, and water management.
Ecosystem Marketplace’s Nature’s Investment Frontier report examines how biodiversity finance markets can help address global ecological challenges. Published in April 2025, it emphasizes the need for integrity in market design. It focuses on public-private partnerships, systemic changes in how we value nature, and integrating biodiversity into sectors like infrastructure. The report stresses that true nature-positive outcomes depend on careful planning, not shortcuts.
The World Wildlife Fund released a report in March 2025 based on research from Wild Business. It finds that the world must nearly triple its annual spending on nature-based solutions from US$200 billion to US$542 billion by 2030 to mitigate the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. It includes real-life examples of nature-based solutions in action to show how these projects can transform landscapes and create profits.
South Pole considers the implications that long and short-term carbon market trends will likely have on credit buyers. Published in February 2025, this guidance document predicts there will be greater standardisation of carbon credit quality criteria in the coming year. It is also expected that 2025 will be a new era for carbon markets as Article 6 of the Paris Agreement becomes operational and CORSIA gets underway. Furthermore, the guidance outlines eight ‘megatrends’, including the rise of nature- and tech-based removal credits, that will likely shape the buyer landscape.
Abatable and the Clean Cooking Alliance have collaborated to produce a guide to help potential buyers identify high-quality cookstove credits. Released in February 2025, it covers the foundational concepts of cookstove credits, explaining emissions reductions and the social benefits they bring, especially for women. It advises potential buyers to set a clear procurement strategy, define criteria for project eligibility, assess credit quality and keep claims credible and transparent.