KSA Business: Carbon credits need more supply to meet global demand: IEF – Gulf Digital News

KSA Business: Carbon credits need more supply to meet global demand: IEF – Gulf Digital News

Carbon credits could make a significant contribution to achieving net zero by 2050, but only if participants address issues over limited supply and integrity, the Secretary General of the International Energy Forum told a conference.

Trade in voluntary carbon credits could grow 100-fold by 2050 if teething problems are addressed, Joseph McMonigle said in a keynote address to the S&P Global Carbon Markets Conference in Barcelona.

"There is a huge opportunity for voluntary carbon markets, which can only be realised with concerted international efforts. Overall, the market is characterised by low liquidity, scarce financing, inadequate risk-management services, and limited data availability. Building trust in the market is vital to achieving these goals so we must work harder to improve transparency, standardisation and stability," he said.

A carbon credit is a permit which allows a country or organisation to produce a certain amount of carbon emissions and which can be traded if the full allowance is not used. They come from four categories: avoided nature loss including deforestation; nature-based sequestration, such as reforestation; avoidance or reduction of emissions such as methane from landfills; and technology-based removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere like carbon capture, utilisation and storage. According to the World Bank, global