Carbon Direct's report on the State of the voluntary carbon market 2023 provides a clear overview of trends. Clearly a tale of two markets split between reduction and avoidance, and quality-oriented and removals-focused.
Key takeaways:
Our climate goals require significant carbon reductions and 6 to 10 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide removal per year by 2050.
Just 3% of credits in the VCM are from pure carbon removal projects. However, quality-oriented and removals-focused purchasing is estimated to have grown by 5X from 2021- Q3 2023.
Overall issuances and retirements have declined over the last 18 months as an indication of a fundamental downshift in the demand for riskier credits that make up the majority of the market.