Tool for climate action​

Voluntary Carbon Market

The Voluntary Carbon Market is a tool that aids in meeting the national climate action goals, hastening the transition to a carbon neutral society, and reinforcing the commitment to the «Sustainable Development Goals»

WHAT IS THE
VOLUNTARY CARBON MARKET

It is a system where people or organizations can buy and sell carbon credits, on a voluntary basis, allowing the generation of economic incentives to leverage the implementation of projects to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or carbon sequestration, along with environmental and socioeconomic co-benefits, such as the protection of biodiversity and natural capital or the increase of the resilience of the territory.

The Voluntary Carbon Market promotes and facilitates the participation of different market agents, at the individual or organizational, public or private level:

Supply

Stakeholders seeking financial incentives to support the implementation of a project that promotes: 

Demand

Stakeholders who, within the scope of their emissions mitigation objectives and commitments or climate action strategies, want to:

What are carbon credits?

Each tonne of CO2e, reduced or captured by an activity developed by a carbon project registered in the Voluntary Carbon Market, is equivalent to a carbon credit. 

Carbon credits can assume one of two forms, depending on when they are generated: 

In the case of carbon capture projects, carbon credits can also assume the classification of Carbon+, valuing projects that, in addition to carbon capture, integrate significant benefits to biodiversity and natural capital.

Carbon credits traded in the context of the Voluntary Carbon Market are issued and verified in accordance with the requirements established in the respective carbon methodology, which reflect the monitoring, verification and reporting procedures that project promoters must follow.

 

Principles

Credibility

Ensured by realistic and robust reference scenarios

Additionally

Ensuring that the reduction of GHG emissions or the expected carbon sequestration only occur with the completion of the project. 

Permanence

Captured emissions offsetting shall be safeguarded

Effectiveness

Carbon leaks must be avoided and accounted for

Follow-up

Through a robust monitoring, reporting and verification process

Transparency

Avoiding double counting of reduced or captured emissions 

Sustainability

Generating environmental and socioeconomic cobenefits

Under development

The registration platform of the
Voluntary Carbon Market will allow the:

Registration of different stakeholders (project promoters, credit buyers and verification bodies)

Registration of project for greenhouse gas emissions reduction or carbon capture

Generation and emission of credits and their transactions between registration accounts

Consultation of information regarding all the projects and their credit transactions

Credit cancellation when credits are acquired to compensate for emissions or to contribute to climate action

Credit cancellation when the project promotor needs to compensate for emissions reversal of their project

Legislation

2023

1 SEMESTER

Public discussion

2024

1 SEMESTER

Publication of the Decree-Law n.º 4/2024 of January 5th establishing the Voluntary Carbon Market 

Publication of Order no. 3771/2024, of April 8 creates the technical monitoring committee

2 SEMESTER

Publication of the Order n.º 239/2024/1 Establishes the amountsof the fees to be charged by the supervisory and managing entities of the registration platform.

Publication of the Order n.º 240/2024/1 Define the qualification criteria for exercising the activity of an independent verifier of greenhouse gas emission mitigation projects and identifies the managing entity of the qualification system

Publication of the Order n.º 241/2024/1 Establishes the general requirements for the electronic registration platform of the voluntary carbon market

Publication of the Order n.º 13808/2024 appoints the representatives to the Technical Monitoring Committee

2025

1 SEMESTER

Training and validation of verifiers

Public discussion of the firts carbono methodology

2 SEMESTER

Registration platform in operation

Contacts

(+351) 214 722 800

carbono@adene.pt

Expression of interest form
for submitting projects to the
Voluntary Carbon Market