Government signals the start of the Voluntary Carbon Market

The Government takes today a decisive step towards running the first Portuguese Voluntary Carbon Market with the start of the national registration platform and publishing the method for us. 

This is an opportunity for the country, that becomes one of the first to develop a national carbon market in line with international benchmarks.

The new platform, available on www.mvcarbono.pt, will enable the registration by project developers, credit checkers and buyers, as well as the registration, trading, and cancellation of carbon credits generated on national soil, ensuring transparency, traceability, and environmental integrity, which are fundamental for the initiative’s success.

The "New Afforestation in Portugal" project was validated by the Technical Monitoring Committee, a structure that brings together that gathers experts from several areas, tasked with assessing the system’s performance and ensure its proper running, and reflects not just a widely engaging public consultation, as well as the inputs by sector experts and bodies consulted throughout the process. 

The document sets the technical rules and criteria for new afforestation projects in line with international best practice and the aims of the 2025–2050 Forest Intervention Plan, which stresses the importance of boosting the role of the Portuguese forestry carbon sink through new trees planted.

The new Voluntary Carbon Market is based on a robust, transparent, and technically solid system and will enable investment in projects that generate long-lasting environmental and territorial benefits, contributing directly towards the national decarbonisation targets. 

This Market will be inclusive and accessible, open to all companies, municipalities, organisations, and citizens that intend to support climate action in a transparent manner. The credit carbons can be acquired not just to offset emissions that are difficult to reduce, but also as way to contribute towards climate action.

At the same time, the Carbon Market will economically enhance the ecosystem services and create additional incentives on the active management of forest areas, becoming a territorial development instrument capable of foster other investment opportunities and green jobs.

The Minister of Environment and Energy Maria da Graça Carvalho stresses that "with this platform, the first method published and the first checkers on the ground, the Voluntary Carbon Market becomes a reality in Portugal, at the service of climate action, forests, and the communities". 

"It is an instrument that seeks to offer the necessary confidence for citizens and companies to invest in sequestration and emissions reductions projects, ensuring transparency and a positive impact for the country", she added.

The Voluntary Carbon Market is the outcome of the national commitment to climate neutrality and is a milestone in national climate policy, which reinforces Portugal’s credibility and ambition in a European and international context.