June 2026 VCM Updates: Section A
This article is an automatically translated version of the original Japanese article. Please refer to the Japanese version for the most accurate information.
This is the newsletter from Deloitte Tohmatsu Sustainacraft, Inc. This article is Section A (Market Trends) of the VCM Updates (Voluntary Carbon Market Updates).
«Structure of VCM Updates»
A. Voluntary Carbon Credit Market Trends ← Target of this article
- Analysis of Credit Issuance, Retirement, and Investment Trends
- Project Pipeline Analysis
- Detailed Explanation Section
B. Trends in Major International Regulations
Introduction
Credit Issuance Performance
In May 2026, the total volume of credit issuance was 19.77 million units, a decrease of 24.96% year-on-year. On the other hand, the total retirement volume reached 26.72 million units, recording a significant increase of 132.01% year-on-year. Regarding labeled credits, 8.70 million units were issued with CCP approval and 6.92 million units were CORSIA eligible. The majority of these came from Fugitive Emissions projects in Central and South Asia, characterized by the same projects holding both CCP and CORSIA labels.
Project Pipeline Trends
New pipeline registrations this month included 17 Nature-based Solutions (NbS) projects and 3 CDR projects. NbS projects were mostly comprised of Improved Forest Management (IFM) in Mexico, alongside ARR projects using Verra's VM0047 (in Vietnam, Zambia, Panama, etc.). The CDR projects were all Biochar projects in the Global South, all registered with Isometric, a high-integrity registry. Details are explained in section A-2.
Investment Trends
Investment and offtake activity remained high for both NbS and CDR this month. The largest scale was project finance for Eni CCUS in the UK, but the demand-side movements were more symbolic. In addition to support for Living Carbon by Octopus Energy Generation (backed by Google, Meta, and others), a series of Carbon Dioxide Removal offtakes were made by major corporations such as NTT DATA, Microsoft, Boeing, and Lufthansa, with AI/Data Centers and Aviation driving demand. Furthermore, early-stage investments involving Biochar and decentralized CDR spreading across the Global South, as well as the diversification of methodologies, were prominent.
A. Voluntary Carbon Credit Market Trends
A-1: Analysis of Credit Issuance, Retirement, and Investment Trends
Targeted Registries: VCS (Verra), GS (Gold Standard), CAR (Climate Action Reserve), ACR (American Carbon Registry), ART-TREES, Puro (Puro.earth), Isometric
Target Period: May 2026
Notes: Please note that companies are not required to register under their real names with the registries regarding retired credits, so accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Furthermore, there are delays in reflections on the registries; please be aware that the number of projects or their status for this target period may change in the future.
- Issuance Performance: 19.77 million units (-24.96% YoY)
- By registry, VCS accounted for approximately 60% of the total with 12.12 million units, followed by ACR (2.85 million), GS (2.38 million), and CAR (2.13 million).
- By type, Non-CO2 gases were the largest at 9.09 million units, followed by Energy (4.75 million) and Nature Restoration (2.89 million).
- Retirement Performance: 26.72 million units (+132.01% YoY)
- By registry, ART, which handles Jurisdictional REDD+, stood out with 12.56 million units, followed by VCS (10.79 million) and GS (2.46 million).
- By project, the Jurisdictional REDD+ in Guyana (ART-102) was by far the largest, followed by REDD+ projects in Cambodia and Brazil, and Grassland Restoration projects in China and Mexico.
All credit labels shown below are based on information provided by each certification body (registry). Therefore, please note the following:
・Even if the methodology itself is CORSIA eligible or CCP approved, it will not be counted as a labeled credit in the table below unless the label information is included in the registry data.
・Only the VCS and GS registries provide information regarding Article 6 labels.
Top List of Issued Projects
The following are the top 10 projects for which credits were issued in May 2026, and the list of projects for which labels (Article 6, CCP, CORSIA, Removal) were issued.
| Project | Project Name | Type | Subtype | Methodology | Issuance Volume | CORSIA | CCP | Article 6 | Removal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VCS-4531 | Reducing Gas Leakages within the Hududgaz Gas Distribution Networks across Uzbekistan | Non-CO2 gases | Fugitive Emissions | AM0023 | 5,637,351 | 5,637,351 | 5,637,351 | 0 | 0 |
| VCS-2505 | Fuel Efficient Cooking in South Africa | Energy | Cookstoves | VMR0006 | 1,897,296 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ACR-1072 | Heartland Methane Abatement and Land Restoration Project 4 | Other | OTHER | Plugging Orphan Oil and Gas Wells | 1,368,286 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VCS-3021 | Reducing Gas Leakages within North West and other sub-areas of the Titas Gas Distribution Network in Bangladesh | Non-CO2 gases | Fugitive Emissions | AM0023 | 718,503 | 718,503 | 718,503 | 0 | 0 |
| VCS-1897 | Ntakata Mountains REDD | REDD+ | REDD | VM0007 | 564,914 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| CAR-1963 | Captura de Carbono en la Comunidad Indígena San Miguel Chimalapa | Nature Restoration | IFM | Forestry - MX | 556,535 | 0 | 556,535 | 0 | 0 |
| ACR-1199 | HT HFC Reclamation Project Champaign 2025-1 | Non-CO2 gases | Fugitive Emissions | Reclaimed HFC | 541,151 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| CAR-1864 | BONOS AROMA DEL MAYAB | Nature Restoration | IFM | Forestry - MX | 525,858 | 0 | 525,858 | 0 | 0 |
| VCS-2930 | Reducing Gas Leakages within the Titas Gas Distribution Network in Bangladesh | Non-CO2 gases | Fugitive Emissions | AM0023 | 500,000 | 500,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GS-23254 | Brújula Verde | Nature Restoration | ARR | Not provided | 299,766 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 299,766 |
Issuance Performance by Label (Article 6)
Among the major projects issued this month, no projects were confirmed to have been granted an Article 6 label on the registries.
Issuance Performance by Label (CCP)
A total of 8.70 million units of credits approved by the IC-VCM as CCP-compliant were issued. In particular, Fugitive Emissions projects in Uzbekistan and Bangladesh were issued on a large scale along with CORSIA labels. These mass issuances are centered on projects based on the CDM methodology "AM0023," which reduces Methane leaks from natural gas distribution networks. Methane is a potent Greenhouse Gas that tends to have high CO2 equivalent volumes, and since this methodology meets both CORSIA eligibility and CCP approval criteria, it has become a major provider of high-quality labeled supply. Due to the nature of monitoring distribution network Leakage, attention is also expected to turn to the affinity with satellite-based Methane remote sensing technology in the future.
| Project | Project Name | Type | Methodology | Country | Issuance Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VCS-4531 | Reducing Gas Leakages within the Hududgaz Gas Distribution Networks across Uzbekistan | Fugitive Emissions | AM0023 | Uzbekistan | 5,637,351 |
| VCS-3021 | Reducing Gas Leakages within North West and other sub-areas of the Titas Gas Distribution Network in Bangladesh | Fugitive Emissions | AM0023 | Bangladesh | 718,503 |
| CAR-1963 | Captura de Carbono en la Comunidad Indígena San Miguel Chimalapa | IFM | Forestry - MX | Mexico | 556,535 |
| CAR-1864 | BONOS AROMA DEL MAYAB | IFM | Forestry - MX | Mexico | 525,858 |
| GS-10791 | GS10789 VPA2: Efficient and Clean Cooking for households in Kenya | Cookstoves | GS TPDDTEC | Kenya | 299,036 |
Issuance Performance by Label (CORSIA)
A total of 6.92 million units of ICAO CORSIA-eligible credits were issued. These were mainly supplied from Fugitive Emissions projects in Uzbekistan and Bangladesh, as well as Cookstoves projects in the Gambia.
| Project | Project Name | Type | Methodology | Country | Issuance Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VCS-4531 | Reducing Gas Leakages within the Hududgaz Gas Distribution Networks across Uzbekistan | Fugitive Emissions | AM0023 | Uzbekistan | 5,637,351 |
| VCS-3021 | Reducing Gas Leakages within North West and other sub-areas of the Titas Gas Distribution Network in Bangladesh | Fugitive Emissions | AM0023 | Bangladesh | 718,503 |
| VCS-2930 | Reducing Gas Leakages within the Titas Gas Distribution Network in Bangladesh | Fugitive Emissions | AM0023 | Bangladesh | 500,000 |
| VCS-4000 | DelAgua Clean Cooking Grouped Project in The Gambia | Cookstoves | VMR0006, VM0050 | Gambia | 61,136 |
Issuance Performance by Label (Removal)
Approximately 0.30 million units of credits with the Removal label were issued from the GS registry for an ARR project in Colombia.
| Project | Project Name | Type | Methodology | Country | Issuance Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GS-23254 | Brújula Verde | ARR | Not provided | Colombia | 299,766 |
In terms of retirement (Nature-based), the Guyana Jurisdictional REDD+ (ART-102) was the largest by far with approximately 12.50 million units. This was followed by the Southern Cardamom REDD+ in Cambodia.
| Project | Project Name | Type | Methodology | Country | Retirement Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ART-102 | Guyana National REDD+ Program | REDD+ | ART - TREES | Guyana | 12,498,592 |
| VCS-1748 | Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project | REDD+ | VM0009 | Cambodia | 418,546 |
| ACR-539 | Puget Sound Energy Baker-White River Forest Carbon Project | Nature Restoration | IFM (Non-Federal) | United States | 334,269 |
| VCS-2748 | Zhangye Improved Grassland Management Project | Nature Restoration | VM0026 | China | 324,152 |
| VCS-2887 | Boomitra Grassland Restoration in Northern Mexico | Nature Restoration | VM0042 | Mexico | 122,942 |
| VCS-4143 | Urupianga Grouped REDD Project | REDD+ | VM0015 | Brazil | 122,391 |
| VCS-1218 | Evio Kuiñaji Ese'Eja Cuana（Madre de Dios） | REDD+ | VM0007 | Peru | 112,151 |
| VCS-868 | REDD project in Brazil nut concessions (Madre de Dios) | REDD+ | VM0007 | Peru | 102,414 |
| VCS-961 | 'El Arriero' Afforestation | Nature Restoration | AR-ACM0001 | Uruguay | 88,591 |
| VCS-934 | The Mai Ndombe REDD+ Project | REDD+ | VM0009 | DRC | 73,381 |
Among the companies retiring credits this month, French shipping giant CMA CGM took the lead by retiring over 510,000 units, including Nature-based projects. This was followed by German energy retailer Grünwelt, Brazilian cosmetics manufacturer Natura Cosméticos, and major Canadian airline Air Canada. Furthermore, the Walmart Foundation, which retired ART (Jurisdictional REDD+) credits via Emergent, along with EC marketplace Etsy and Microsoft, continued to retire Nature-based credits. Note that since some retirements are made through account IDs or intermediaries and real names are not disclosed, they are listed as "Undisclosed" in this table.
| Company Name | NbS Retirement (Month) | Total Retirement (Month) | Last 1 Year | Cumulative | Registry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CMA CGM | 336,435 | 511,112 | 807,908 | 2,082,249 | GS, VCS |
| Grünwelt Wärmestrom GmbH | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 | 200,000 | VCS |
| Natura Cosméticos S.A. | 122,431 | 122,431 | 813,852 | 2,702,487 | VCS |
| Air Canada | 69,919 | 106,173 | 722,038 | 1,916,751 | ACR, GS, VCS |
| Walmart Foundation (via Emergent) | 60,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 | 60,000 | ART |
| Etsy | 59,000 | 59,000 | 429,858 | 1,802,992 | ACR |
| Undisclosed | 52,000 | 52,000 | 52,000 | 52,000 | VCS |
| ONV | 47,250 | 47,250 | 117,250 | 176,000 | VCS |
| Microsoft | 36,877 | 36,877 | 283,685 | 1,139,290 | VCS |
| Undisclosed (via Removall) | 32,667 | 32,667 | 42,667 | 45,733 | CAR |
Target Projects: Covers investments in Nature-based Solutions and CDR.
Target Period: May 2026
Notes: "Credits" and "Group investment" record only announced figures; therefore, some fields may be blank.
We are introducing 17 major investment cases this month (5 Nature-based, 12 CDR). The table below is an excerpt of those with high scale or visibility and is not an exhaustive list of total counts or amounts. In terms of financial figures, the $670 million project finance for Eni CCUS in the UK and the $500 million scale support for Living Carbon stand out. The background of each case is explained in A-3.
| Date | Beneficiary | Type | Credits | Investment Amount | Region | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-01 | NTT DATA Group | CDR | - | - | Switzerland, JP | Climeworks |
| 2026-05-01 | Octopus Energy Generation | Nature | - | $500,000,000 | US | Living Carbon |
| 2026-05-04 | Undisclosed | CDR | - | - | France | Captura, SAF+ |
| 2026-05-04 | Boeing | CDR | 20,000 | - | - | Supercritical |
| 2026-05-05 | BESTSELLER | Nature | - | $3,000,000 | South Africa | Regenerative Fund |
| 2026-05-05 | Transition VC | Nature | - | $1,100,000 | India | Prithu |
| 2026-05-11 | Greencode Ventures, etc. | CDR | - | - | - | Supercritical |
| 2026-05-13 | Oxbury Bank; Terraset | CDR | - | $1,300,000 | UK | Restord |
| 2026-05-15 | DBS Bank | Nature | - | $234,500,000 | Singapore | City Developments Ltd |
| 2026-05-15 | Sony Innovation Fund, etc. | CDR | - | $25,000,000 | - | CREW Carbon |
| 2026-05-18 | FMO | Nature | - | $450,000,000 | Africa | Ecobank |
| 2026-05-20 | Microsoft | CDR | 650,000 | - | Denmark | BioCirc |
| 2026-05-22 | Undisclosed | CDR | - | - | India | Supercritical, Varaha |
| 2026-05-22 | Lufthansa | CDR | - | - | - | Deep Sky, etc. |
| 2026-05-26 | LSB Industries | CDR | - | $95,000,000 | - | Lapis Carbon Solutions |
| 2026-05-26 | Astaia, SFPIM, etc. | CDR | - | $18,899,999 | Belgium | D-CRBN |
| 2026-05-27 | MUFG, BNP Paribas, etc. | CDR | - | $670,000,000 | UK | Eni CCUS Holding |
A-2: Project Pipeline Analysis
Targeted Registries: VCS (Verra), GS (Gold Standard), CAR (Climate Action Reserve), ACR (American Carbon Registry), ART-TREES, Puro (Puro.earth), Isometric
Target Projects: Pipelines related to Nature-based Solutions and CDR
Target Period: May 2026
Notes: Since there is a slight time lag in reflection on registries, please be aware that the number of projects or status changes for this target period may occur in the future.
Terminology: Annual ER refers to the annual Emission Reductions or sequestrations (tCO₂e).
In this section, we cover new pipeline projects for Nature-based Solutions and Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) from last month, as well as updates for the pipeline from the month before last that were introduced in the previous newsletter.
Note that the Listing Date in this database is either obtained directly from the registry or is based on estimates. Therefore, please be aware that the comprehensiveness and accuracy of the data are not guaranteed.
There were 17 new registrations for Nature-based Solutions (NbS) projects in May 2026. Following the previous month (April), there was active movement in forest management projects in Latin America, particularly in Mexico.
By type, Improved Forest Management (IFM) accounted for the majority with 12 registrations, followed by Afforestation, Reforestation and Revegetation (ARR) with 4, and Agricultural Land Management (ALM) with 1. By country, Mexico was overwhelmingly the highest with 12 registrations, while 1 registration each was confirmed in Vietnam, Zambia, Panama, Brazil, and the United States.
Explanation of Notable Projects:
In this month's NbS pipeline: