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.
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.
In January 2025, Verra announced that it’s Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program is eligible for the first phase of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) that will run until 2026. This means that more verified carbon credits will get CORSIA labels and this guidance documents explains how the supplies of eligible credits can apply. The guidance advices on double counting avoidance, stating that credits with 2021 vintages onwards will need an Article 6 authorisation and to meet other criteria to be eligble.
An open-source template that sets a baseline for the essential information project developers need to move through buyers’ procurement pipelines.
This website, Carbon Paradox, launched in December 2024. It addresses 24 paradoxes of carbon markets and considers the nuanced issues that could prevent or enable its scaling. Making interesting reading for all market stakeholders, the website covers topics including baselines, additionality, perfection and standards.
In December 2024, The Nature Conservancy summarised the progress toward finalising Article 6 during COP29 to establish rules for international carbon markets under the Paris Agreement. The guidance details the operationalisation of Articles 6.2 and 6.4 which enable countries to scale up mitigation and mobilise climate finance for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The document highlights tasks for the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body and anticipates future refinements to the framework.
We Mean Business released a toolkit to aid understanding of nature-based solutions and voluntary carbon markets in 2024. It answers FAQs on nature-based solutions, voluntary carbon markets and the importance of these solutions. There’s a timeline for Article 6, as well as case studies for nature-based solution projects. It emphasises that we can only achieve global climate goals by harnessing nature-based solutions for both climate mitigation and adaptation.
The Nature Conservancy updated its resource on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement following developments before the UN’s COP29 in Baku. Published in October 2024, this resource explains the differences between Article 6.2, and 6.4. It also explores the relationship between Article 5 of the Paris Agreement and Article 6. It writes that although Article 5 recognises the importance of forests, it is not a financial mechanism.
In November 2024, Nature4Climate released a glossary for REDD+ terminology. It unpicks the notoriously confusing jargon surrounding forest protection projects and explains the jurisdictional approach to REDD+ and results-based payments.