In a joint effort, the Grantham Research Institute and carbon market database AlliedOffsets have developed a new tool called TRACEcdr that visualizes the monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects.
The foundation for the TRACEcdr tool was laid out by the Grantham Research Institute in 2023, with the creation of a CDR MRV market map that showed all the regulations, certifying organizations, and MRV protocols put in place for the different CDR methods and the interrelations between these market participants.
With the help of AlliedOffsets and their up-to-date data on voluntary carbon market (VCM) activity, the original compilation of data has been enhanced with more information and delivered as a digital tool that can help policy practitioners, project developers, and buyers gain a full perspective on the CDR ecosystem in one glance.
Anton Root, Co-founder and Head of Research at AlliedOffsets said: “The VCM is changing rapidly as new standards and protocols are being released to enable novel projects to certify their emissions reductions and removals. Working alongside the LSE Grantham Institute team, we’re glad to be able to play a role in helping the market gain a clearer understanding of what types of activities are leading the way in an increasingly complicated landscape.”
The TRACEcdr tool is a digital visualization of the MRV mechanisms active across all CDR methods, mapping out an interactive MRV ecosystem.
It has a function that illustrates the activity within the MRV system, whereby utilizing data from the extensive AlliedOffsets database, the tool is able to provide information on the number of projects and the volume of issued credits for each CDR method and MRV protocol.
A new feature that is set to unroll in 2025 will also assign scores to the MRV protocols used for credit issuance by overlaying the results of a systematic MRV quality evaluation.
Looking at the available market information while developing the tool, the teams from Grantham Research Institute and AlliedOffsets also noticed some vital market highlights.
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One of those highlights is the notable activity of land-based biological carbon removal methods. Based on the sum of MRV protocols, project number, and credit issuance, initiatives that focus on tree planting or restoring natural CO2 sinks are dominating the carbon removal market.
Another trend that stood out from the data is the year-on-year growth of protocols being developed for different CDR methods and the clear leadership of a few select protocols that are actively engaged in credit issuance.
Lastly, the data showed that just under 60% of credits issued on the VCM can be used in compliance markets, most prominently within the Air Resources Board program in California.
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