The State of Carbon Credits 2024

Sylvera, the carbon data provider, reviewed the state of carbon credits in 2024. Published in January 2025, this report highlighted the differing perspectives of market participants during the previous year. Some players were excited by Article 6 progress and new methodological approvals from the ICVCM. Others remained unconfident both in credit quality and in the likelihood of future demand. However, it concludes that the carbon markets are going through a gradual but significant time of change.

VCM 2024 Review & Emerging Trends for 2025

In January 2025, AlliedOffsets reviewed the trends observed in the voluntary carbon market over the past twelve months. It reported rising interest in engineered removal credits and more offtakes of nature-based solutions. It also found there has been a 33% drop in low-quality credit retirements since 2020.

Nature-based solutions can help cool the planet — if we act now

In May 2021, Nature published a comment piece by several leading academics specialising in natural climate solutions. They made the case that nature-based solutions can help cool the planet if the world harnesses this potential now while simultaneously drastically cutting greenhouse gas emissions. It breaks down natural global temperature cooling into three categories: protecting, managing and restoring and shows the mitigation potential of each. It assesses the potential of nature-based solutions to reduce global heating under a 1.5, 2 and 3-degree trajectory.

Climate justice, forests, and Indigenous Peoples: toward an alternative to REDD + for the Amazon

This article, published in Springer Nature in July 2024, considers how REDD+ currently works for Indigenous Peoples and how it could work better. It argues that in implementing REDD+ on a project level, the burden of conservation and management tends to fall on marginalized communities, including Indigenous Peoples. The authors present 12 principles that reimagine REDD+ in a justice-oriented way.

Forest Carbon Partnership Facility 2024 Annual Report

In October 2024, The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) reported a record year – it paid the most it ever has in a single year. It made a record $111.3 million in emission reductions payments which take the fund’s total payments (including those made in previous years) to $164.5 million. It reported that FCPF participant countries are now generating about 20 million excess emission reductions. It argues that these could be monetised in carbon markets but that only about 5 million emission reductions have so far been independently verified.

The ICVCM’s CCP-labelled REDD+ methodologies

The ICVCM has approved three REDD+ methodologies. Announced in November 2024, this paves the way for CCP-labelled REDD+ credits which are expected to be issued in 2025. The following methodologies have been approved: (ART) The REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard (TREES) v2.0, TREES Crediting Level; (VCS) VM0048 Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation v1.0; and
(VCS) Jurisdictional and Nested REDD+ (JNR) Framework v4.1. Millions of REDD+ carbon credits could be issued from these methodologies.

Expert review of the science underlying nature-based climate solutions

What do you think of nature-based solutions? If you’re unsure, this academic paper could be for you. Published in Nature Climate Change in March 2024, it assesses the scientific basis of 43 nature-based solutions using an extensive literature review and expert elicitation. It revealed that the most used pathways, such as tropical forest conservation, have a solid scientific basis for mitigation.

High forest, low deforestation areas: Perspectives from the voluntary carbon market

The Nature Conservancy investigated the appropriateness of the voluntary carbon market to finance HFLD conservation in this report released in August 2024. It interviewed experts to reveal some compatibility concerns, with many participants suggesting that issues in REDD+ should be resolved before turning to HFLD. It also spoke of risks within the VCM that could prevent it from being an appropriate mechanism for HFLD.

Carbon Direct Releases New Report on Ecological Restoration in the Voluntary Carbon Market

Published by Meta and Carbon Direct, this report discusses the opportunities for ecological restoration in the VCM. Released in May 2024, it covers barriers for ecological restoration projects in the VCM and provides a roadmap to guide buyers to best support ecological restoration. In 2022, carbon credits from nature-based projects represented about 17% of issuances from the four largest registries. But how to increase this percentage further?