Market value of carbon offsets drops 61%, report finds

Negative scientific and press reports on the efficacy of carbon credit projects has led to a direct pullback in buyer investment'

The market for carbon offsets shrank dramatically last year, falling from $1.9bn (1.5bn) in 2022 to $723m in 2023, a new report has found. The drop came after a series of scientific and media reports found many offsetting schemes do nothing to mitigate the climate crisis and biodiversity loss.

The research by Ecosystem Marketplace, a nonprofit initiative that collects data about the carbon market from brokers and traders, found the market had shrunk 61%.