The purchase of carbon credits through the voluntary carbon market is widely considered to be an effective way to channel finance towards climate action. However, despite years of existence and the recent hype surrounding voluntary carbon markets, no public research exists to assess how much VCM finance is actually reaching climate mitigation projects and local communities on the ground. This means that it is often impossible for a buyer, let alone an external observer such as a journalist or consumer, to know how much of the money paid to purchase a carbon credit will benefit the climate and how much will profit brokers, exchanges, resellers and other intermediaries.

Drawing on the results of a study conducted on behalf of Carbon Market Watch by AlliedOffsets which found that nine out of 10 intermediaries do not disclose their fees or profit margins, this policy briefing explores the issues at stake and makes a number of recommendations for tackling and rectifying this lack of transparency.