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