We’ve just released the 2021 half-year update report highlighting the direction of the voluntary carbon market through our Voluntary Carbon Market Dashboard. It includes historical volumes up to H1 2021, and projections for H2 2021.

Notable highlights include:

• Issuance levels hit record highs. Issuance of carbon credits more than doubled in the first half of 2021 when compared to the same timeframe in 2020.
• Credit retirements are picking up pace. Retirements of carbon credits also picked up pace with a total of 69 Mt being retired in the first half of 2021.
• Nature-based solutions projects are leading the way. Credit issuances in the first half of 2021 were dominated by Natured-based Solutions (NbS) and Renewable Energy (RE) projects, representing over 80% of total forecasted issuances combined.
• Issuance of NbS credits have tripled. Issuance of carbon credits from NbS projects increased sharply in the first half of 2021, reaching 78 Mt – the equivalent to more than triple the volume observed for the same period last year, exceeding the total 2020 issuance recorded for NbS projects.
• Carbon removal credits are still in short supply. While issuance of carbon removal credits has been on the rise recently, during H1-2021, more than 80% of all NbS issuances came from avoided deforestation projects.
• A handful of countries dominate NbS credit supply. The top three countries in 2021 (so far) – Indonesia, Cambodia, and Peru – are currently dominating the market, together representing 61% of the total NbS credits issued in the first half of the year.
• Renewables maintain an important role in credit supply. While much of the attention has been going to the sharp rise in the supply of nature-based carbon credits, issuance levels for renewable energy projects also witnessed significant growth in the first half of 2021, totaling 62 Mt. This represents more than a 50% increase over the same period last year.

You can read the detailed update here.

The VCM Dashboard aims to contribute to a transparent voluntary carbon market by providing market participants up-to-date information on key metrics in an easily digestible format.

For more insights on the development of the VCM, please visit our Dashboard, or reach out to dashboard [at] climatefocus.com for tailor-made solutions for your business.