Voluntary carbon market defies the odds
Demand for credits seen rising 20% this year despite issues around integrity and standardisation
Demand for voluntary carbon credits is on track to grow by about a fifth this year despite the market’s struggles with project integrity and fragmented liquidity, industry figures told the recent FT Commodities Global Summit. “Demand has sustained; it has not dropped. If anything, this year it will actually increase,” said Enric Arderiu, global head of environmental products at commodities trading company Mercuria. “We see an increase this year of 20% or so on retirements. So [demand] is not going down, it is not going away—it has just shifted and fragmented.” Arderiu estimated the market for voluntary credits to be about 200mt/yr of CO₂. The market has faced multiple allegations in recent y
Also in this section
12 March 2026
Role of world’s largest carbon cap-and-trade market under scrutiny as war in Iran threatens to drive EU energy costs to unsustainable levels
10 March 2026
Europe urgently needs to bring more projects to FID, as CCS investors warn they might divert capital to faster-growing regions
9 January 2026
A shift in perspective is needed on the carbon challenge, the success of which will determine the speed and extent of emissions cuts and how industries adapt to the new environment
2 January 2026
This year may be a defining one for carbon capture, utilisation and storage in the US, despite the institutional uncertainty






