Carbon Markets Initiative
Bringing Transparency and Integrity to Carbon Markets
The Challenges
The Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) has the potential to drive meaningful climate action, from protecting forests to scaling carbon removal technologies. However, inconsistent standards, data opacity, and market fragmentation undermine its effectiveness. Buyers struggle to evaluate credit quality due to incomplete and inaccessible project data, while developers face conflicting and duplicative reporting demands. Verifiers, meanwhile, work with static, inconsistent datasets, making reliable assessments difficult. Without clear, standardized, and transparent information, the market remains high-risk and inefficient.
Our Work
RMI’s Carbon Markets Initiative (CMI) is tackling these challenges by bringing transparency and integrity to carbon markets. Through an open, standardized data framework and educational resources, CMI empowers stakeholders to navigate the carbon markets with confidence.
Strengthening Carbon Credit Data
Demystifying Carbon Markets
Making carbon credit data more transparent, structured, and interoperable
RMI is leading efforts to standardize carbon credit data, ensuring that buyers, project developers, and registries have access to reliable, verifiable, and science-backed information throughout the credit lifecycle.
What We Do:
THINK
- VCM Landscape Guide defines the current state of the VCM and action levers around data quality, access, and efficiency
DO
- Creating an open-source framework for carbon credit data that captures the full breadth and depth of data across the credit lifecycle
SCALE
- Partnering with VCM products and service providers, like Centigrade, to implement RMI’s carbon credit data framework
- Co-leading the Carbon Data Open Protocol (CDOP) to drive industry-wide standardization and interoperability
Helping buyers and other stakeholders navigate the complexity of the carbon markets.
Understanding which carbon credits provide real impact is daunting. RMI provides the knowledge, tools, and frameworks for data-informed purchasing decisions.
What We Do:
THINK
- Buyers’ Guide to Carbon Credit Data Quality helps buyers find, compile, and analyze carbon credit data to inform their purchases
DO
- Designing guide that outlines the climate impact of different carbon credit project types, and the green and red flags to look for
SCALE
- Scaling best practices in carbon credit purchases through virtual and in-person workshops
Resources
