The Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) has taken a significant step in its consolidation with the approval of two new carbon methodologies: Reforestation and Improved Forest Management. These join the existing methodology for New Afforestation, bringing the total number of available methodologies to three.
This expansion considerably increases opportunities for developing carbon sequestration projects in national territory and for attracting private investment in nature-based solutions. The Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, highlighted that "we are creating conditions for more landowners, entities, and companies to invest in forests and climate action." According to the minister, the expansion of methodologies reinforces the VCM's credibility and growth capacity, mobilizing private funding for projects that contribute to carbon neutrality, territorial valorization, and forest resilience.
The new methodologies allow for a more diverse range of forest interventions, enhancing the potential for carbon credit generation in Portugal and encouraging sustainable management practices with climatic, environmental, and territorial benefits. Currently, the VCM has two registered projects under the New Afforestation typology and a third project in initial validation. 977 carbon credits are available for sale, with 29 registered users and 10 qualified verifiers.
The creation of these methodologies represents another step in consolidating the VCM as a tool to support climate action, promoting market-based solutions to direct investment towards carbon sequestration projects and the valorization of national forest resources. The minister also indicated that the VCM is gaining scale and maturity, with ongoing work to value blue carbon and seagrass meadows, integrating coastal ecosystems into climate action.
