Major oil and gas companies Shell and TotalEnergies are not simply participating in the voluntary carbon market, they have embedded themselves across its value chain, from developing and trading credits to buying them at enormous scale. While remaining among the world’s largest emitters, they are positioning carbon credits as a climate solution when in reality they serve as a smokescreen for inaction, enabling continued fossil fuel production alongside claims of progress towards climate targets.

This raises concerns regarding the potential conflicts of interest in the voluntary carbon market arising from the participation of oil and gas majors whose core business depends on the continued production and sale of fossil fuels. Their influence across multiple facets of the voluntary carbon market creates the potential to shape its development in ways that prioritise commercial interests and market growth at the expense of environmental integrity, and meaningful emissions reductions.