MSCI graded these projects on six criteria, which broadly answer two questions: How much carbon dioxide was reduced or removed, and how did the project accomplish that? Across more than 4,000 projects, not one received the top AAA rating or a score of between 4.5 and 5 points.
On paper, a September report by MSCI Carbon Markets provides a grim verdict of the state of the voluntary carbon market (VCM) from over 4,000 projects worldwide.
One of the section headers in the 41-page report puts it bluntly: “Low-integrity projects are prevalent, but integrity is slowly improving.”
