Carbon market value rises despite weaker demand as buyers pay for higher-quality offsets
Investment-grade credits made up 27% of retirement volumes but more than half of market value in Q2.
Carbon credit prices continued to strengthen in the second quarter of 2026 despite a decline in retirement volumes, underscoring a growing willingness among corporate buyers to pay more for higher-quality credits.
According to Sylvera's latest Carbon Data Snapshot, the voluntary carbon market retired 38.55 million carbon credits during Q2, down 10% from the 42.9 million retired in the same period last year. Across the first half of 2026, retirements totalled 89.27 million credits, a 9% year-on-year decline.
