Understanding Carbon Markets

Voluntary purchases of carbon credits can play an essential role in helping companies and investors reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with climate commitments and serve as a key mechanism for funding the transition to a cleaner, more resilient economy globally.

Our guide examines the essentials of carbon markets – how they work, their governance and the latest developments – to help capital-markets participants navigate this critical aspect of climate-finance.

The guide offers insight to help you:

• Navigate the global landscape for emissions trading
• Understand the ecosystem for carbon credits and the voluntary market
• Assess the fundamentals of carbon-credit quality
• Identify carbon credits that can advance your strategy

Carbon markets have reached a pivotal point. Work is underway to safeguard that credits meet criteria designed to ensure they represent real reductions in emissions and that companies and investors can use them as part of a credible climate strategy.

The convergence of these two trends — the need for carbon credits that support net-zero pathways and the rigor that reliance on carbon credits demands — underscores why carbon markets matter for everyone who aims to mitigate the risks and impacts of climate change.