Carbon market glossary
Glossary term
Spot Credits
Carbon credits that have already been issued and are sitting in a registry account, ready for transfer immediately
Why spot credits matters for carbon credit buyers
Spot credits already exist in a registry account, so once bought they can be transferred and retired immediately. That immediacy makes them the right instrument for offsetting current-year emissions, and removes delivery risk entirely. The trade-off is price: spot typically costs more than forward commitments for the same project type.
Related terms