Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM)

What is the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM)?

In addition to the required emissions trading (known as the compliance market), there's also a voluntary market for carbon credits called the voluntary carbon market (VCM). This allows individuals and businesses to choose to offset their CO₂ emissions voluntarily.

In this market, participants can support climate protection projects and nature-based solutions by purchasing carbon credits. Each credit they acquire represents one ton of CO₂ sequestered through actions like sustainable agriculture or reforestation. So, the voluntary market directly helps fund environmental projects and supports global net-zero goals.

However, there are concerns about the credibility and transparency of the voluntary carbon market because there aren't consistent standards and regulations. Buyers in this market should carefully evaluate whether the projects they're supporting genuinely reduce greenhouse gas emissions and whether the funds from carbon credit sales are truly invested in climate protection projects.