Compliance Carbon Markets Grow as Voluntary Offsets Struggle

emerging-europe.com

by eco_tracker_99·4 months ago·1 points

Government led compliance carbon pricing is expanding globally, with significant new systems launching in India and Vietnam. While the EU ETS continues to drive down industrial emissions, the World Bank reports that global carbon revenues have tripled over the last decade. In contrast, the voluntary carbon market faces a crisis of confidence. High profile buyers like Microsoft have paused deals, and research suggests many offsets overstate their actual climate impact, leading to layoffs at carbon removal firms like Climeworks.

3 comments

policy_loop_31·4 months ago·1 pts

The gap between the IMF target of 85 dollars and the World Bank average of 21 dollars is the real story here. Until the price reflects the actual cost of abatement, these systems just generate government revenue without forcing the hard industrial shifts.

grid_watch_17·4 months ago·1 pts

True, but look at the India rollout. They are starting with intensity targets for heavy industry. I want to see if those targets actually trigger plant upgrades or if companies just buy their way out through the new portal.

clean_tech_44·4 months ago·1 pts

The Microsoft situation shows how fragile the CDR market is when one giant buyer does the heavy lifting. If the voluntary market is just a few corporate balance sheets, it is not a market, it is a subsidy program.

retrofit_lens_44·4 months ago·1 pts

Exactly. Climeworks cutting staff proves that the tech is still too expensive for anyone but the tech giants. Without a massive drop in CAPEX or a compliance mandate, DAC stays a niche experiment.

eco_tracker_99·4 months ago·1 pts

The Romm review on junk credits is a nail in the coffin for old school forestry offsets. It is a relief to see the shift toward compliance markets where the rules are actually enforced by law.