Carbon Credits — Frequently Asked Questions
What are carbon credits?
A carbon credit represents one tonne of CO₂ equivalent (tCO₂e) that has been reduced, removed, or avoided from the atmosphere. They are issued by verified projects — such as reforestation, renewable energy, or methane capture — and purchased by companies to offset their greenhouse gas emissions.
Carbon credits are the largest and most established market within the natural capital asset universe, with a current market size of $850 billion and a 15% annual growth rate.
Why tokenize carbon credits on blockchain?
Traditional carbon credit markets suffer from:
- Settlement delays of 30–90 days through brokers
- Opaque and inconsistent pricing across different registries
- Risk of double-counting (the same credit sold to two buyers)
- High minimum transaction sizes that exclude smaller buyers
NCRB solves all of these by issuing each carbon credit as an ERC-7943 uRWA token (symbol: NC-CARBON-{ID}) with 1:1 backing. Settlement is instant via smart contract escrow, pricing is transparent through the real-time oracle, and retirement permanently burns the token on-chain — making double-counting cryptographically impossible.
Which registries and standards does NCRB support?
| Registry | Standards |
|---|---|
| Verra | Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB), SD VISta |
| Gold Standard | GS4GG (carbon + SDG impact) |
| American Carbon Registry (ACR) | ACR Standard |
| Climate Action Reserve (CAR) | CAR Protocol |
How is credit quality assessed?
Every carbon credit submitted to NCRB receives a programmatic quality score (0–100) across six dimensions:
| Dimension | Weight |
|---|---|
| Technical Quality | 25% |
| Additionality | 20% |
| Permanence | 20% |
| Certification Level | 15% |
| Social Impact | 12% |
| Vintage / Condition | 8% |
Scores are benchmarked against Sylvera and BeZero institutional ratings — if your team already uses those, NCRB ratings map directly.
What are the rating bands and price ranges?
| Band | Score | Typical Price |
|---|---|---|
| AAA — Premium | 85–100 | $15–$30 / tCO₂e |
| AA — High Quality | 75–84 | $10–$20 / tCO₂e |
| A — Good | 65–74 | $5–$15 / tCO₂e |
| BBB — Compliance Grade | 50–64 | $50–$90 / tCO₂e (compliance markets) |
| Not Eligible | < 50 | — |
Social co-benefits (CCB Gold, SDG alignment, Indigenous engagement) can command 30–100% price premiums above base rates.
What are the minimum requirements to tokenize a carbon credit?
- Minimum BBB rating from Sylvera or BeZero (or equivalent internal assessment)
- Vintage within the last 5 years
- Third-party verification by an accredited auditor
- Issued by a supported registry (Verra, Gold Standard, ACR, CAR)
How is token revenue distributed?
| Recipient | Share |
|---|---|
| Asset Owner | 70% |
| Registry Partner | 10% |
| NCRB Platform | 10% |
| Third Party (aggregator / referrer) | 10% |
What fees apply?
- Trading fee: 2.5% per transaction on the marketplace
- AUM fee: 1.5% annually on held tokens
- BaaS licensing: $50,000–$200,000 (for registry partners using Blockchain-as-a-Service)
What compliance frameworks are supported?
Carbon credits on NCRB are aligned with:
- Paris Agreement — Article 6 (corresponding adjustments tracked on-chain)
- ICVCM Core Carbon Principles (CCP) — gold standard for carbon integrity
- SBTi Net-Zero Standard — BVCM and residual emission neutralisation
- ISO 14064-1/2/3 — GHG quantification and verification
- VCMI Claims Code of Practice — Silver, Gold, and Platinum buyer claims
- CSRD E1 — climate disclosure integration
How do I retire a carbon credit?
Retiring a credit on NCRB permanently burns the token on-chain. The BuyerClaimsRegistry contract records the retirement against your wallet address, the standard claimed (e.g. VCS, GS4GG), and a timestamp — creating an auditable, permanent claim record aligned with VCMI and SBTi buyer-claim requirements.