Understanding Carbon MarketsNavigate carbon markets with clarity
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How do carbon credits work? Why are some considered more credible than others? And what role do they play for companies, investors and the path to net zero?
Start here to build a clear picture of carbon markets — from how credits are created to what separates high quality from the rest.
How do carbon credits work?
Carbon credits are the foundation of carbon markets. Each carbon credit is intended to represent a verified estimate of one metric tonne of greenhouse gas emissions reduced or removed, as determined under the rules of the applicable crediting program. Start here to learn how credits are created, how they differ and how they’re used to fund climate action.
What is a carbon credit?
Learn how a single carbon credit is defined, measured and certified to represent verified emission reductions or removals.
Types of carbon credit
Explore the difference between reductions and removals, and how project types support the nature of each credit.
Carbon credit ecosystem
See how project developers, registries, verifiers and buyers work together to create and trade carbon credits.
What defines carbon credit integrity?
Not all carbon credits deliver the same impact. This section outlines how integrity is assessed, and how clear standards and data-driven ratings help build trust across the market.
What is carbon credit integrity?
Understand why integrity is central to credible carbon markets and how it ensures credits represent real, verified climate benefits.
What makes a high-quality carbon credit?
Learn the key factors that help distinguish high-quality credits from the rest — from additionality to permanence.
MSCI Carbon Project Ratings
Explore how MSCI evaluates more than 4,000 projects worldwide using in-depth, project-level assessments across six key criteria.
What are carbon projects?
Every type of carbon project plays a different role in climate mitigation and faces its own integrity challenges. Explore individual project categories, the risks they manage and how they perform across the key quality criteria used in MSCI Carbon Project Ratings.
Afforestation and reforestation
Learn how restoring forests removes carbon from the atmosphere, while understanding permanence and land-use challenges.
Biochar
See how engineered carbon removal locks carbon into solid form for centuries, and why its durability can drive higher integrity scores.
Clean cooking
Discover how efficient stoves reduce emissions and improve health outcomes, and the challenges of measuring consistent use.
Carbon Market Solutions
Gain clarity in fast-evolving carbon markets with investor-grade data, analytics and insights.
Projects and Transactions
Access roughly 30,000 projects spanning more than 15 registries and 1 million transactions.1
1 Data and coverage as of December 2024.