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🗞️ Driving the news: The voluntary carbon market (VCM) has faced challenges with allegations of greenwashing and low-quality carbon credits, leading to scrutiny and hesitancy among companies to participate
• However, efforts to improve oversight, certification frameworks, and supply of high integrity credits are transforming the market, potentially marking the beginning of a more mature phase in 2024

🔭 The context: The VCM has been under pressure to rebuild confidence after negative publicity
• With strengthened standards and a collective push for transparency, the market is seeing a shift towards higher quality carbon credits
• Initiatives like the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) and the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) are guiding this evolution, emphasizing the need for companies to prioritize internal decarbonization alongside purchasing credits

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The development of a reliable voluntary carbon market is crucial for achieving global climate and nature goals
• Investments in carbon removal projects, including both nature-based and technological solutions, are essential to complement direct emission reduction efforts and help close the gap towards net zero targets

⏭️ What's next: The VCM is expected to gain momentum in 2024 as it moves away from its "Wild West" reputation
• With more aligned standards and clearer guidance, particularly from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), the market aims to attract more investment

💬 One quote: "In 2023 there was a lot of negative press about bad projects, but what I'm seeing now is the whole VCM community coming together really, and recognising they need to do more to shed light on projects that are really effective," (Georgia Berry, UK and European policy lead at Patch)

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