As mentioned in the previous article, carbon exchanges and independent carbon credit providers are mushrooming as alternatives for businesses to obtain carbon credits. This section will focus on the differences between these trading platforms and the international standards that allow them to distinguish themselves in the voluntary market.

Carbon exchange

A carbon exchange, acting as a trading channel that does not necessarily involve the development of carbon credits, does not have its own methodology but follow the concept of the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) or Gold Standard (GS) mentioned in the previous article. In other words, carbon credits purchased on the exchange fulfill these international standards and can be used as offsets by companies as well. The table below provides a comparison of the common carbon exchanges AirCarbon and Climate Impact X.

Table 1. Comparison of carbon credit exchanges