Who Can List Carbon Credits on the Marketplace

Our marketplace is open to anyone who controls carbon credits, or will control them, and can show it. In practice the sellers we speak to fall into four groups. Each one has a different relationship with the project, and that changes what a buyer will want to see before agreeing a deal.

The four kinds of seller

Project developers

A developer is the organisation that designed the project, took it through validation with a standard such as Verra or Gold Standard, and is named as the proponent on the registry. Think of a company running a biogas plant at a dairy cooperative in Gujarat, or a firm that has planted agroforestry blocks with farmers in Odisha.

Developers have the strongest position when listing. They hold the project documents, they know the monitoring data, and the registry account where units are issued is usually in their name. Buyers like dealing with them because there is no gap between the seller and the source.

Aggregators

An aggregator bundles many small activities into one project or programme. Cookstove distribution across several districts, solar irrigation pumps spread over hundreds of farms, or rooftop solar on small businesses are common Indian examples. The individual households or farmers do not register anything themselves; the aggregator does that work and holds the resulting units.

Aggregators can list on the same footing as developers. Buyers will ask more about how the individual sites are tracked, how usage is checked, and what agreements exist with the end participants, so it helps to have those answers ready.

Traders

A trader buys units from a developer or another holder and sells them on. Traders are useful to the market: they hold inventory, split large blocks into smaller lots, and match sellers with buyers who need a specific vintage or programme.

If you are a trader, the key thing a buyer will look for is a clear chain of title. That means proof that the units have actually moved into your registry account, or a signed agreement showing your right to sell units still held by the developer. A trader who is only "mandated" to find buyers, with no contract and no units, is not in a position to list.

Holders of issued units

Some companies end up with credits they no longer need. A corporate buyer may have over-purchased for a voluntary target, or a business may have received units as part of a wider deal. These holders can list too, as long as the units sit in a registry account they control and have not been retired.

What kinds of units can be listed

The marketplace groups projects into six categories: Forestry, Renewable, Blue Carbon, Agriculture, Waste & Biogas, and Industrial. If your project fits one of these, it has a natural home. Each listing also records whether the project removes carbon from the atmosphere, reduces emissions, or avoids them, so buyers can filter for what suits their claims. Our guide to reading a carbon credit listing explains how those fields appear to a buyer.

Units should be issued, or due to be issued, under a recognised standard with a public registry. Buyers will expect a registry ID they can look up. Units from a programme that is not listed on any public registry are very hard to sell, because nobody can confirm they exist or that they have not already been used.

Delivery types: spot, issued and forward

Every listing shows one of three delivery types. Which one applies depends on where your units are today.

A forward listing is a genuine option for developers who need funding before a verification is complete. It carries more risk for the buyer, so expect more questions and a more detailed contract. We cover this in forward sales and offtake agreements, and the buyer's side of the comparison is in spot, issued and forward credits.

Units with CORSIA or Article 6 status

Some buyers, especially airlines, need units that meet the CORSIA rules or carry a host-country authorisation with a corresponding adjustment. If your units have that status, or you are working towards it, record it when you register the project. It affects who will buy and at what price. If you are an Indian seller still at the authorisation stage, our services page describes how we help sellers with host-State authorisation and corresponding adjustments.

What every seller should be able to show

Whatever group you belong to, the same basics apply:

• A registry ID that matches the project you describe.
• Evidence that you hold the units, or have a contractual right to sell them.
• The project documents a buyer will ask for during due diligence.
• A clear statement of vintage and quantity for each lot.

If you can show those four things, you are ready to list. The detail of what to enter is set out in information needed to list a project.

When you are ready, register your project once on our seller intake form and add your lots. If you are unsure which group you fall into, call or message the desk and we will talk it through with you.