What to know about carbon markets in 2026
More than 150 million credits from a diverse array of project types were retired annually from the voluntary carbon market in recent years. Even for experienced sustainability teams, navigating these offerings can be challenging.
To help buyers invest with confidence, Trellis asked leading experts from corporate sustainability teams, ratings companies and carbon credit registries for their advice on what buyers need to know.
Among the insights they shared:
Buyers aren’t alone. The array of credit types on offer may feel overwhelming, but “new buyers don’t need to start from scratch,” said Lukas May, chief commercial officer at Isometric, a carbon credit registry. “There are publicly available resources that can jumpstart procurement processes and make it easier to navigate the market.”
Maximize impact and minimize risk. Diversify your credit portfolios. “Just like any other investment strategy, it’s smart to spread your risk and build resilience into your portfolio,” said Greg FitzGerald, vice president for supply at Carbon Direct, a carbon management consultancy. “Climate science is a complex problem demanding varied and complex solutions; your portfolio should reflect that.”
Don’t delay. Supply of high-quality credits will tighten. “Over the past year, price differentiation for higher-quality credits has become even more entrenched,” said Spencer Meyer, chief ratings officer at BeZero Carbon. He cites the example of credits for restoring degraded forests and creating new ones: “We are seeing price premiums of almost 90 percent for every single notch up the rating scale.”
Balance speed with long-term strategy. With high-quality credits in short supply, sophisticated buyers are engaging early with project developers to secure the credits they want. “Companies looking to enter the market in 2026 should begin thinking about desired project attributes and engaging with suppliers, specialized intermediaries or buyer groups sooner rather than later,” said Tiffany Cheung, corporate engagement lead at AlliedOffsets, a carbon markets data provider.
Securing and retiring credits is not the end of the process. Companies then have to communicate the reasons for their purchases to stakeholders. At Amazon, credits are used to signal progress, said Michelle Jolly, head of the company’s Sustainability Exchange. “We don’t believe credits should be used as absolution for high carbon activities,” Jolly said. “Rather, we believe they should be used where you’ve made great progress, but there’s still some remaining carbon to be neutralized.”
Download the full report for additional insights from the following experts:
- Tiffany Cheung, Corporate Engagement Lead at AlliedOffsets
- Ted Christie-Miller, Co-founder at Residual
- Greg FitzGerald, Vice President, Supply at Carbon Direct
- Phillip Goodman, Director of Carbon Removal Portfolio at Microsoft
- Owen Hewlett, Chief Technical Officer at Gold Standard
- Robert Höglund, Head of Climate Strategy and Carbon Dioxide Removal at Milkywire
- Michelle Jolly, Head of Sustainability Exchange at Amazon
- Lukas May, Chief Commercial Officer at Isometric
- Spencer Meyer, Chief Ratings Officer at BeZero Carbon
- Brennan Spellacy, CEO and Co-founder at Patch
