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Carbon Markets Initiative

Bringing transparency and integrity to carbon markets

The Challenges

Carbon markets have 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 markets will remain inefficient and inaccessible.

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.

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Strengthening Carbon Credit Data

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.

THINK: Voluntary Carbon Market (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, inclusive of emissions and socio-environmental considerations, that captures the full depth and breadth of data across a credit life cycle.

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 to drive industry-wide standardization and interoperability.

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Demystifying Carbon Markets

Understanding which carbon credits provide real impact is daunting. RMI provides the knowledge, tools, and frameworks for data-informed purchasing decisions.

THINK: Buyers’ Guide to Carbon Credit Data Quality helps buyers find, compile, and analyze carbon credit data to inform their purchases.

DO: Designing interactive tables that show available credit types and issuance data, and providing explainers that elaborate on quality risks for specific credit types.

SCALE: Scaling best practices in carbon credit purchases through virtual and in-person workshops.

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