VCM’s overlooked insurance system against ‘reversed’ emissions removals

Carbon credit registries maintain ‘buffer pools’ in the event that emissions removal is reversed by weather events. But some in this space remain unconvinced.

Voluntary carbon markets, which offer carbon emitters a way to offset their emissions by buying credits from carbon-reduction projects, should adhere to the principle of “permanence”. This is to ensure that the greenhouse gas emissions reductions they achieve are preserved, even in the event that unexpected natural disasters cause a sudden reversal.