In the last five years, the voluntary carbon market (VCM) has seen an unprecedented growth in demand for carbon credits from voluntary climate change mitigation activities. This growth is driven by corporate climate commitments, consumer interest in individual and corporate climate change mitigation, investor appetite for carbon credits, and mandatory emissions disclosures and reductions. 

In September 2020, the Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets (TSVCM) estimated that demand for carbon credits could further increase 15-fold by 2030 to USD50 billion.

Author: Charlotte Streck, Melaina Dyck and Danick Trouwloon

Date of publication: December 2021