Over the last several years, in the absence of such an international regulated market, voluntary markets have not only filled the vacuum and allowed the private sector to trade carbon credits, but also thrived and grown tremendously — 58% in the last year itself. The new development from COP26 brings good news to these voluntary markets, as it helps legitimise these efforts and increase the scrutiny on the quality of offsets. Voluntary markets will likely align with these regulations overtime, and this will help accelerate decarbonization by bringing much needed quality and scale to carbon offsets projects.
The COP26 Summit is now complete, with mixed reactions about its ability to push through a game changing climate deal.
While there may have been several disappointments, one victory claimed was the agreement on Article 6 of the Paris agreement which clarifies rules for the creation of a government led international carbon credits market where Singapore had an important part to play in facilitating the negotiations.
