World Bank – Carbon Pricing, 2024

The 2024 State and Trends of International Carbon Markets report evaluates the progress and challenges in carbon markets, emphasizing the urgent need for solutions in order to reach their full potential. The report highlights the importance of addressing issues such as environmental integrity concerns, transparency, and operational details related to Article 6 negotiations. It also discusses the decrease in market value of traded carbon credits in voluntary markets, the stability of issuance and retirement levels of credits, and ongoing efforts to restore trust and transparency in carbon markets by various stakeholders. Furthermore, the report notes the increasing demand for high-quality carbon credits, with buyers willing to pay premiums for projects with perceived higher quality and development impact. It also highlights the preference for removal credits over avoidance and reduction credits, particularly technology-based removals, due to their perceived higher quality. Lastly, there is a growing demand for advanced market commitments related to carbon removal projects.