Voluntary Carbon Market

Climeworks and Lithos Carbon announced a partnership to bring verified enhanced rock weathering (ERW) credits to the carbon market, according to Carbon Herald. The collaboration builds on a relationship dating to 2023, when both companies agreed to deliver 3.5 million tonnes of carbon removal credits over more than a decade.

Buyers looking to diversify their carbon removal portfolios now have an expanding ERW supply channel backed by two established players. Climeworks has emerged as the single largest offtaker of ERW credits, and Lithos delivered its largest-ever ERW credit issuance in December 2025, signaling growing maturity in this removal pathway.

Gold Standard announced the first large-scale retirement of carbon credits by a commercial airline under CORSIA Phase 1. According to Gold Standard, 180,000 credits were retired by Shell on behalf of Japan Airlines — 130,000 from a biomass energy conservation programme in Malawi and 50,000 from a clean cooking project in Tanzania.

For buyers, this milestone signals that CORSIA compliance purchasing is now actively underway. With IATA estimating airlines will need upwards of 200 million eligible credits by late 2027, demand for CORSIA-eligible credits is expected to intensify significantly, potentially tightening supply for voluntary buyers seeking the same project types.

The ICVCM updated its CCP assessment status table on March 23, confirming that all CCP-Eligible programs have updated their procedures to comply with the Core Carbon Principles criteria. According to the ICVCM, nine programs are now CCP-Eligible including Verra, Gold Standard, ACR, CAR, ART, Isometric, Puro.Earth, Equitable Earth, and the recently added Rainbow (formerly Riverse).

For buyers, the expanding pool of CCP-Eligible programs — now covering approximately 106 million approved credits across 36+ methodologies — provides more options for sourcing high-integrity credits. However, with only about 8% of all rated projects qualifying for the CCP label, the standard remains genuinely selective.

Big Tech companies have dramatically increased carbon credit purchases to offset emissions from energy-intensive AI infrastructure, according to CNBC. Data compiled by Ceezer shows Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft purchased 68.4 million permanent carbon removal credits in 2025 — up 181% from 24.4 million in 2024 and up from just 14,200 in 2022.

This surge in demand from well-funded corporate buyers is reshaping the carbon removal market. Microsoft alone signed a 6.8 million-tonne agreement with AtmosClear in 2025. For other buyers, the concentration of demand among a few large purchasers could tighten supply of durable removal credits and push prices higher, making early procurement increasingly important.

Climate software platform Watershed opened its 2026 Carbon Request for Proposals (RFP), accepting applications from durable carbon removal, nature-based removal, and superpollutant avoidance projects, according to Watershed. The company's customer base includes over 800 global companies, including 90 Fortune 500 firms.

Buyers benefit from Watershed's aggregated procurement model, which reduces the complexity of bilateral negotiations. Last year's RFP attracted proposals from over 300 projects across 17 removal pathways in 55 countries, resulting in more than 100 purchase agreements. Supplier applications close April 10, 2026.

The ICVCM confirmed Rainbow (formerly Riverse) as the ninth carbon crediting program to achieve CCP-Eligible status, according to the ICVCM. The France-headquartered program, which has over 80 registered projects, met the rigorous criteria of the Core Carbon Principles Assessment Framework after incorporating strengthened governance, verification, and additionality provisions.

For buyers, Rainbow's CCP-Eligible status expands the range of programs offering high-integrity credits. Now that Rainbow has program-level approval, its individual methodologies can be assessed for CCP-Approved status — meaning new CCP-labelled credit types from this program could become available in the coming months.

A new Advance Carbon Removal Coalition launched in Canada with founding members including the federal government, RBC, BMO, and Shopify, according to reporting by the Canadian Press. The coalition aims to mobilize $100 million in new support for Canadian carbon removal projects by 2030.

For buyers, this signals growing institutional commitment to carbon removal in North America. As public-private partnerships scale up CDR funding, new supply from Canadian projects in areas like direct air capture, enhanced weathering, and biochar could enter the voluntary market, potentially offering buyers additional sourcing options with strong regulatory backing.

Verra officially launched Version 5 of its Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program, according to a Verra program notice. The update introduces a pilot for innovative approaches to managing non-permanence risk, enabling project proponents to use insurance or fund-based approaches as alternatives to the pooled buffer. Version 5 also aligns the VCS Program with the ICVCM's Core Carbon Principles and CORSIA requirements.

Buyers should note that VCS Version 5 strengthens the integrity framework for the world's most widely used voluntary carbon crediting program. The non-permanence risk reforms are particularly relevant for buyers of nature-based credits, where permanence has been a key concern. New templates take effect January 1, 2027.

According to Carbon Direct's 2026 outlook, the voluntary carbon market is entering a "professionalization phase" after years of hype, backlash, and an integrity reset. The report notes that over 80% of high-durability carbon removal capacity is at risk without additional offtake commitments.

Buyers should note that market segmentation between high- and low-quality credits is accelerating. Companies looking to secure durable removal credits may face limited supply and should consider forward purchase agreements to lock in availability.

Verra and S&P Global Commodity Insights are developing a next-generation registry platform, according to Verra's transition announcement. The upgrade includes transaction-ready APIs for automated transfers and retirements, expanded digitization of the project lifecycle, and transparent reporting tools.

Buyers will benefit from a more streamlined registry experience with better integration for automated credit transactions. The enhanced transparency tools should also reduce the due diligence burden when evaluating and retiring credits.

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) announced new CCP assessment decisions covering reforestation, improved forest management (IFM), and rice cultivation methodologies. According to the ICVCM, an estimated 105 million credits have now been approved to use the CCP label, with approximately 52 million available in the market.

For buyers, the expanding pool of CCP-approved methodologies means more credit types now carry a verified quality signal. CCP-labelled credits command a price premium of up to 25% according to market analysts, making early procurement a strategic consideration.

Gold Standard published its Methodology for the Sustainable Management of Mangroves, its first methodology for mangrove projects. Developed with FORLIANCE, the methodology enables remote-sensing applications for measuring and quantifying impact, with crediting periods of 30 to 50 years. Under this methodology, only removal credits may be claimed.

Buyers interested in nature-based removal credits with strong co-benefits now have a new certified project category. The first project under this methodology — a mangrove restoration in Indonesia — has already been registered, with more expected as the pipeline develops.

The SBTi released the second draft of its Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0 for public consultation in November 2025, replacing "beyond value chain mitigation" with a new "Ongoing Emissions Responsibility" framework. According to the SBTi, from 2035, taking responsibility for ongoing emissions through carbon credit purchases will become mandatory for large companies in high-income countries.

This is a significant development for corporate buyers. The V2.0 standard will shape which credits qualify for SBTi-aligned claims, with requirements that removals from 2035 onward must be ex-post verified. Companies should review the draft to align their purchasing strategies before mandatory adoption begins in 2028.

The EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) moved from its transitional reporting phase into the definitive compliance phase in January 2026, according to the European Commission. Importers must now purchase and surrender CBAM certificates equivalent to the EU ETS carbon price. The mechanism only allows deductions for compliance-based carbon prices paid in third countries — not voluntary carbon credits.

Buyers should note that voluntary credits are not recognized under CBAM for compliance purposes. However, companies with EU supply chain exposure may still benefit from voluntary credit purchases for SBTi alignment or reputational purposes, separate from their CBAM obligations.

The UAE Carbon Alliance signed a non-binding Letter of Intent with the Africa Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI) to purchase US$450 million in high-quality African carbon credits by 2030, according to ACMI. Total signed purchase intent under the ACMI Advance Market Signal now exceeds $1 billion.

This growing demand signal for African credits is relevant for buyers seeking credits with development co-benefits at competitive prices. As ACMI-affiliated projects scale across clean cooking, agroforestry, and renewables, new supply is expected to enter the market over the coming years.