This chapter provides an assessment of voluntary carbon markets (VCMsVoluntary Carbon Markets (VCM)) as distinct from compliance or mandatory carbon markets (MCMs). It does this by examining the standards involved giving rise to the verification of carbon credits, and an assessment of how effective the VCMVoluntary Carbon Markets (VCM) can be in delivering carbon avoidance, reduction or removals. The terms avoidance, reduction and removals refer consecutively to activities that replace ones that produce greenhouse gases, those that decrease them compared to those used previously, and those that take emissions out of the atmosphere and lock them away safely for long periods of time (Carbon-direct.com (2024) Types of carbon credits: Reduction, Removal, and Avoidance in https://www.carbon-direct.com/insights/how-do-carbon-credits-actually-work-removal-reduction-and-avoidance-credits-explained ). Industrial and non-industrial processes that avoid GHGs are the ideal way to meet the IPCC’s Net Negative target for CO2 by 2100. The other two are abatement processes. Reliance upon them comes perilously close to a dog-chasing-its tail, a race between more emissions and less or sucking them out of the atmosphere if Net Zero carbon dioxide is to be achieved by 2050, and for all other GHGs by 2070 (Climateactiontracker.org Net zero targets in https://climateactiontracker.org/methodology/net-zero-targets/ ).