What is the voluntary carbon market – and what contribution does it make to climate protection?

Abstract:

The voluntary carbon market is a trading platform for so-called “carbon credits”. The promise behind it: Climate protection projects should either prevent the emission of greenhouse gases or remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Anyone who purchases carbon credits – usually companies or other private actors – can offset their own greenhouse gas emissions. However, this tempting-sounding concept of CO2 compensation is increasingly being criticized and the actual climate protection effect appears questionable.

So is the voluntary carbon market a valuable tool for climate protection or not? And how could it change in the coming years? In this impulse, the academy project “Energy Systems of the Future” (ESYS) provides an overview of the structure and functioning of the voluntary carbon market and highlights the resulting challenges and need for action.