One of the main achievements of COP26 in Glasgow this year was building a framework for Article 6 that enshrines carbon markets as a small part of activities to reduce emissions around the world. The voluntary carbon market has been a key point of discussion this year, and while it isn’t perfect, key stakeholders are working quickly to address concerns, with a new governing body working to establish oversight and increased standards amid a particular focus on increasing the integrity of the market and building trust and transparency. Interest from corporations, businesses and nonprofits that are turning to the voluntary market as one part of their climate commitments has led to a huge surge in demand for carbon offsets, and a recent report by Ecosystem Marketplace reports that the market is on track to hit a record $1 billion worth of transactions in 2021 alone if current levels of activity and growth continue.

As business leaders, decision makers and nonprofit leaders manage the need to make substantial commitments alongside the influx in demand, here’s why the voluntary carbon market is a crucial part of our efforts to address climate change — and what success will look like:

A sense of urgency: There’s no time to waste. The goal is to halve emissions within the next decade and become a net zero world by 2050 if we are to avoid dangerous climate change. We need every solution brought into play and deployed now at speed and at scale — especially those that create benefits for those in the most marginalized communities.

Not a pass to pollute: Polluters will continue to pollute even if they don’t purchase carbon credits. Stopping polluters from polluting requires the efforts of government regulation, policies and investors shifting funding to cleaner energy systems and societal behavior change. Quality carbon offsets have nothing to do with polluters polluting, but they do ensure a mechanism so polluters do pay while other activities can be implemented.

Read the full article about the voluntary carbon market by Dee Lawrence at Forbes.