New report sets out recommendations for strengthening carbon market infrastructure and systems

The Integrity Council’s Continuous Improvement Work Program (CIWP) on Market Transparency, Scalability and Standardisation explored how to scale high-integrity carbon markets through improved infrastructure, higher pricing transparency and consistent rules. A report detailing its findings and recommendations is now available.

Carbon markets are an important mechanism for mobilising private finance into climate mitigation efforts. However, they have developed with limited regulatory oversight, resulting in fragmented infrastructure and inconsistent approaches, making it difficult for the market to scale. The Integrity Council convened the CIWP on Market Transparency, Scalability and Standardisation to address these challenges.

Scope of the work program

The work program brought together experts from across the market, including carbon-crediting programs, project developers, financial institutions, infrastructure and data providers, legal and accounting specialists, and both Indigenous Peoples and local community members.

The working group focused on three interconnected areas key to market maturation:

• Market infrastructure – ensuring systems are resilient, interoperable and transparent.
• Pricing transparency and integrity – improving clarity, comparability and fairness in fee structures and benefit-sharing arrangements.
• Catalysing structured finance – identifying the legal, financial, risk and assurance conditions needed to unlock institutional capital.

Summary of key findings

Stronger infrastructure is needed to support trust and efficiency. The report notes significant variation in how registries operate, record credit ownership, disclose data and manage risk. Greater alignment around international standards (such as ISO, IOSCO, ISSB and UNIDROIT), improved auditability, and the adoption of harmonised data formats would help create a more resilient and interoperable market.

Transparency of fees, pricing and benefit-sharing must improve. Better disclosure of carbon-crediting programs’ fee structures and more consistent terminology would support comparability and reduce information asymmetry between buyers and sellers. The report also highlights the importance of fair and transparent benefit-sharing arrangements between project developers and the communities they operate in, noting that communities should have fair access to information and meaningful participation in benefit-sharing negotiations.

More consistent risk, assurance and financial classification frameworks are essential for investment. To attract institutional finance at scale, carbon credits need to be understood and treated more consistently in legal and accounting frameworks. The report identifies opportunities to align with emerging global guidance on risk disclosure, assurance standards and financial treatment, paving the way for structured finance and more predictable capital flows.

What happens next?

The findings and recommendations of this CIWP will inform future refinements to the CCP Assessment Framework. They also complement ongoing work in areas such as benefit-sharing and oversight of validation and verification bodies.

The report also outlines considerations and recommendations for other carbon market actors, such as carbon-crediting programs and data and infrastructure providers. The Integrity Council will continue to engage with diverse experts and stakeholders to support the development of a high-integrity, scalable and investment-ready market.

For any further inquiries on the CIWP, please contact us at info@icvcm.org.