There are voluntary and mandatory (compliance) schemes for carbon removal and avoidance

Compliance markets are mandated by the relevant regional or national regulators of carbon reduction schemes (EU, California, USA, etc)

Voluntary markets are separate from compliance schemes and allow companies and individuals to meet  their self-imposed goals by purchasing Carbon offset credits

Carbon offset is any activity that removes greenhouse gas from the atmosphere, for example by growing trees, in order to compensate for CO2 emissions that can not be avoided or reduced in time

A “Carbon offset credit” is a document  that confirms the absorption of one  ton of CO2 or equivalent  gases, verified by a certification agency

These agencies also certify the social and economic co-benefits (“Add-ons”) achieved by such carbon offsetting projects

Mainly two types of projects: those that reduce emissions and those that capture past emissions

Carbon capture projects can be technology- or nature-based solutions (NbS), such as forestry, agriculture and wetlands/coastal projects

Among the NbS, afforestation and reforestation are the most efficient and with a larger likelihood of large scale implementation