Disrupters Threaten To Upend The Established Carbon Credit Marketplace

Disrupters Threaten To Upend The Established Carbon Credit Marketplace

Share to Linkedin Close-up of vertical sign with logos for ridesharing companies Uber and Lyft, with wheels of a car ... [+] in the background, indicating a location where rideshare pickups are available in downtown Los Angeles, California, October 24, 2018. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) The voluntary carbon market is stagnating and trying to save itself by derailing developing countries from issuing carbon credits — which the corporate community might find more attractive. It's like telling Uber UBER it can't compete against traditional taxis. Indeed, disrupters are throwing the more established voluntary carbon market off balance, worth about $2 billion and potentially much more. In a white paper, the International Emissions Trading Association tries to discredit "REDD+ sovereign credits" approved by the UN and issued by national governments, saying they will hurt the industry's reputation and they are not fungible assets that can get exchanged on international markets. "The voluntary carbon market (VCM) is struggling, and desperation is setting in for those holding VCM credits," says Kevin Conrad, executive director for the Coalition for Rainforest Nations, in a release. "It's no surprise that the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) is coming out with feeble attacks on (sovereign) REDD+ and