The world carbon market is growing at a staggering rate with trading volumes into the tens of billions of dollars and approaching a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide. The growth prospects for business are enormous and the potential positive impacts for greenhouse gas emission reductions, climate policy options, renewable energy investment, development projects and efficiency gains are increasingly apparent.

A key part of the market in greenhouse gas emissions is the rapidly growing voluntary carbon market driven by companies, organizations and individuals committed to efficiency, profitability and rapid action on climate change. HSBC, Volvo, Avis, Ricoh and American Express are but a few of the many companies now offsetting their greenhouse gas emissions and becoming 'carbon neutral', fuelling an international voluntary carbon market that is growing exponentially.

This groundbreaking business book, written in a fast-paced journalistic style, draws together all the key information on international voluntary carbon markets with commentary from leading practitioners and business people. The voluntary market is complex, fragmented and multi-layered, but it is beginning to consolidate around a few guiding practices and business models from which conclusions can be drawn about market direction and opportunities.

The book covers all aspects of voluntary carbon markets around the world: what they are, how they work and, most critically, their business potential to help slow climate change. It is the indispensable guide for anyone seeking to understand voluntary carbon markets and capitalize on the opportunities they present for economic and environmental benefit. If you want to be ahead of the curve for the next big thing, you need this book.

About the author(s)

Ricardo Bayon is the director of the Ecosystem Marketplace, the world's leading ecosystem and environmental markets information source. Amanda Hawn is the managing editor of the Ecosystem Marketplace. Katherine Hamilton is head of carbon programs at the Ecosystem Marketplace.

Contents

The Big Picture * Market theory * Carbon markets * Voluntary carbon market * Understanding Supply and Demand in the Voluntary Carbon Market * A look at the supply chain * How does the market work? * How Does the Voluntary Carbon Market Relate to the US REC Market? * What are RECs? * The voluntary market * Certify it * Market trends * RECs and the voluntary carbon market * What the experts think * Renewable Energy Certificates to carbon offsets: What's the right exchange rate? * Renewable Energy Certificates and carbon offsets: What informed customers need to know * Clearing the air: the impact of carbon cap-and-trade regulations on the voluntary market for renewable energy * The Voluntary Carbon Market: What the Experts Think * An economist's perspective on the voluntary carbon market: Useful but not sufficient * A conservationist's perspective on the voluntary carbon market: Can it help us overcome inertia? * A project developer's perspective on the voluntary carbon market: Carbon sequestration in the Sierra Gorda of Mexico * A policy perspective on the voluntary carbon market: Seeding a real market for emissions reductions * A retailer's perspective on the voluntary carbon market: Voluntary action obligatory for effective strategy on emissions * A consultant's perspective on the voluntary carbon market: Does quality matter in environmental commodity markets? * An investor's perspective on the voluntary carbon market * An investor's perspective: The challenges ahead for scaling the voluntary carbon market * A buyer's perspective on the voluntary carbon market * A bank's perspective on the voluntary carbon market: From risk to opportunity – the HSBC carbon neutral experience * A Glance into the Future of the Voluntary Carbon Market * A new outlet * Gourmet carbon * The broad spectrum * Unanswered questions * Moving toward answers * Appendices