A new report from Abatable reveals significant financial activity in the voluntary carbon market (VCM) during 2024. Funding reached $16.3 billion, a staggering 18 times greater than the total value of retired carbon credits.
This substantial investment, detailed in “Decoding the voluntary carbon market in 2024 and beyond,” highlights ongoing corporate and investor interest in securing high-quality carbon credits through direct agreements with project developers.
It also reflects the positive market sentiment observed throughout the year.
Of the total funding, nature-based climate solutions (both avoidance and removal projects) received $7.8 billion, representing 48% of the total.
Engineered carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects secured $5.9 billion in deals, or 38% of all funding. These figures follow the $6 billion invested in nature-based solutions in 2023 and the record $14.7 billion poured into engineered CDR during that same year.
Credits retired under the IC-VCM Core Carbon Principles (CCP) or CORSIA standards comprised nearly 50% of all retirements in 2024, up from 29% in 2021, showing more interest in higher-quality projects.
On the supply side, carbon project developers are increasingly aligning their credits with these high-integrity standards. Among the largest 25 developers, 56% of credits issued in the past three years meet these criteria, compared to 46% in 2022.
Relevant: The Voluntary Carbon Market In 2024: 11 Key Insights From Abatable
Abatable’s data, which tracks over 3,600 carbon credit suppliers, reveals that the market remains heavily concentrated, with the top 100 suppliers accounting for over 80% of all carbon credit issuances in 2024.
However, the competitive landscape is evolving. While the market share of the top 25 players decreased in 2024, developers ranked 25th to 100th saw gains, likely due to corporate partnerships, public grants, and investor funding.
Valerio Magliulo, Abatable CEO and Co-founder at Abatable, commented: This funding activity and the shift from both suppliers and buyers towards high integrity shows a VCM laying fresh foundations for enduring transformation, and highlights the importance of carbon markets as a critical lever for climate action.’
