Voluntary Carbon Credits
As opposed to compliance markets which are regulated through laws and regulations, the voluntary market consists of companies and individuals who choose to offset their own emissions.
This may be motivated by ethical reasons or in order to offset longer-term climate risks facing their organisation. The voluntary market is worth just over 1 billion dollars, and is growing rapidly, as corporate responsibility becomes more popular.
Not all voluntary carbon credits are created equal. Some are more effective than others in actually reducing emissions, and some have more stringent standards for ensuring that the offset represents genuine reductions.
The most common voluntary carbon credit is the Certified Emissions Reduction (CER), which is a unit of carbon dioxide equivalent reduction that has been issued by the UNFCCC's Clean Development Mechanism.
Other voluntary carbon credits include:
- Voluntary Emissions Reductions (VERs)
- Verified Carbon Units (VCUs)
- Climate Resource Units (CRUs)
These credits can be used to offset emissions from activities such as air travel, energy use, or agricultural production. One popular way to purchase them is through carbon offset providers.
When voluntary carbon credits are purchased, the money usually goes towards funding projects that reduce emissions in developing countries. These projects can range from planting trees to installing solar panels.
However,not everyone is a fan of these credits. Some argue that they allow companies and individuals to "buy their way out" of taking responsibility for their emissions. Others worry that they may create unneeded incentives, by rewarding activities that would have happened anyway (such as planting trees).
Voluntary credits are just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to addressing climate change. But for those who want to take action now, they can be a helpful way to offset your emissions and support emissions-reducing projects around the world.
CCV, also known as Voluntary carbon credit, is a climate solution currently being developed by Carbon Credit Technology which brings voluntary carbon credits on-chain. Similar to CCT, each CCV Token represents 1 kilogram of verified voluntary carbon.
