Voluntary Carbon Markets Need Structural Reform to Recover

The voluntary carbon market (VCM) collapsed in 2023–24 following a series of investigative reports (The Guardian, Zeit, SourceMaterial) documenting systemic over-crediting in REDD+ forest projects — particularly by Verra's VCS methodology. Trading volumes fell 50%+ and major corporate buyers (Nestlé, Gucci) publicly walked away from offset strategies. The market is not dead, but it needs methodology-level reform — specifically, tighter additionality standards, satellite-verified monitoring, and liability mechanisms for failed removals. The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) Core Carbon Principles framework, adopted in 2023, is the most credible reform effort. High-integrity removal credits (biochar, enhanced weathering, DAC) are gaining share versus nature-based avoidance credits, which is the right direction.