2026 Carbon Market Buyer’s Guide

Our annual guide on everything carbon market to help you understand the megatrends shifting the market and what to look out for in 2026 so you can make smart decisions.

The carbon market reset of the past few years has been transformative. Staying up-to-date is essential to building resilience into your business.

Structural market shifts in everything from policy and integrity to supply and demand mean staying up-to-date has never been so important for managing and mitigating escalating carbon costs, and generating a diverse future-proof portfolio of carbon credits.

The guide includes strategies for securing multi-year offtake agreements to avoid price shocks, aligning procurement with the latest science-based standards, and communicating your climate impact transparently, making it the must-have download of 2026.

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The carbon market reset of the past few years has been transformative. Staying up-to-date is essential to building resilience into your business.

Companies that want to successfully transition to net zero and build long-term business resilience must invest in carbon credits now and build a diverse, future-proof portfolio.

Marco Magini Executive Director Projects & Portfolio Management, South Pole

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In this guide, we break down:

The importance of the carbon market

Why it is essential to bridging the gap to the world's 1.5°C goal
How it has transitioned from a voluntary "nice-to-have" to a fundamental component of corporate financial resilience

Megatrends shaping the next five years

The eight structural shifts defining the decade ahead
How digitalisation is unlocking integrity at scale
Why carbon removals are accelerating and diversifying
How national carbon pricing schemes are proliferating globally and growing regulatory scrutiny is effectively ending the era of generic "carbon neutral" claims

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The 2026 carbon market outlook

Regulatory and framework updates to expect across policy, integrity, supply and demand
Potential effects on immediate and long-term pricing
Likely implications of the finalised SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0
The commencement of CBAM financial Phase 1
How the EU Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF) is setting new global best practices
Evolution of continued legal enforcement of green claims

Actionable advice on how to navigate the current market

Top tips for buyers looking to purchase now
A handy step-by-step approach giving you all the questions you need to ask, covering everything from framework to mitigation outcomes to contractual requirements, that will help you put together your robust, future-proof portfolio

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Launch webinar: The 2026 Carbon Market Buyer’s Guide

Get a first look at the 2026 Carbon Market Buyer’s Guide. Join us for a focused session unpacking the global trends, expected market developments this year and practical tips that will shape your 2026 carbon credits stra

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