VCM, the Regional Voluntary Carbon Market Company established by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Saudi Tadawul Group, has added new UK and European participants to its voluntary carbon credit exchange platform.
The company said the new partnerships and exchange onboardings would strengthen links between global supply, market intermediaries, and buyer demand. The announcements were made during London Climate Action Week.
The companies named by VCM include EOS, Tramontana, Sentinel Earth, and Altitude. Together, they cover project development, brokerage, advisory, market access, and corporate engagement, reflecting the infrastructure needed to support voluntary carbon markets beyond individual credit issuance.
VCM said its UK and European expansion follows recent momentum across Asia and North America, where it has announced participants and partnerships spanning project development, carbon accounting, carbon removal, trading, and climate advisory.
Fadi Saadeh, chief executive of VCM, said: “Our expansion in the UK and European markets is an important step in VCM’s journey to build a truly global and interconnected carbon market. By welcoming a diverse set of partners and exchange participants from across project development, brokerage and buyer communities, we are strengthening the foundations of a market that can support real climate action across regions.
“These announcements build on our growing engagement in Asia and North America, and reflect the confidence international participants place in Saudi Arabia’s role in developing transparent, high-integrity carbon market infrastructure.”
Ramazan Aslan, director of EOS, said: “We are pleased to partner with VCM as it expands its international marketplace. This collaboration provides an opportunity to support greater transparency, access and participation in voluntary carbon markets across the UK, Europe and the Middle East.”
The expansion comes as voluntary carbon markets attempt to rebuild confidence after years of scrutiny over credit quality, additionality, double counting, permanence, and claims made by corporate buyers. Demand has not disappeared, but companies are asking more detailed questions about integrity, governance, and the role credits should play alongside direct emissions reduction.
Exchange infrastructure has become more important as buyers look for comparability and reliable execution. Fragmented markets can make it difficult to compare credits, assess quality, manage settlement, understand pricing, and document the basis for sustainability claims. More structured marketplaces may improve transparency, provided standards, disclosure, and project oversight are robust.
The UK is already part of that discussion. The government has consulted on voluntary carbon and nature markets, seeking to clarify policy and governance frameworks for credit integrity and use. Businesses, finance providers, farmers, environmental groups, and climate specialists have all pressed for clearer rules around credible credits and the claims buyers can make.
There is also a wider climate finance gap. The Coalition to Grow Carbon Markets has said high integrity credits could help unlock debt free finance for climate action, particularly where traditional public finance is insufficient. That argument has gained traction as governments and companies look for mechanisms to fund conservation, nature restoration, clean technology, and emissions reduction in emerging markets.
Corporate buyers remain cautious. Carbon credits carry reputational risk if they are used to imply emissions reductions that have not occurred, or if projects later face questions over permanence, additionality, or community impact. Stronger market connectivity therefore needs to sit alongside stronger diligence.
Carbon credit procurement is becoming more disciplined. Finance, legal, sustainability, and communications teams need to understand the underlying project, standard, vintage, retirement process, claim language, and audit trail before credits are used in external reporting or customer facing statements.
VCM’s UK and European expansion suggests carbon market infrastructure is becoming more international and more institutionalised. The next test will be whether platforms can provide the confidence, comparability, and governance needed before credits become a more credible part of climate finance strategy.
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