UPDATE: Net-zero pledges drive higher voluntary demand for offsets, but corporates choose “price” over “integrity”

Voluntary cancellations of carbon offsets under the Australian National Registry of Emissions Units (ANREU) have now surpassed 2021 levels, with almost 15 million units surrendered over the 2022 calendar year, a 15% increase from 2021. The uptick in voluntary activity reflects the increasing volume of net-zero and carbon neutral pledges from Australian companies, at both the corporate and product level, with many companies utilising carbon offsets to meet carbon neutrality claims under the Climate Active framework. Over 90% of all voluntary cancellations in the past year have been in the form of low-cost Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs), indicating that local companies