Insights

Breaking Down U.S. Carbon Offsets by Project Type in 2026

Breaking Down U.S. Carbon Offsets by Project Type in 2026

Visual Capitalist & NPUC

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Key Takeaways

  • Forestry & Land Use leads U.S. carbon offsets, with 46.4% of issued credits.

  • Carbon capture represents just 4% of issued credits and only 12 projects, despite its strategic importance to net zero goals.

  • Methane Capture and Refrigerants together represent more than half of all projects.

Breaking Down U.S. Carbon Offsets by Project Type in 2026

Carbon offsets span a wide range of projects, from forest management to wind power. Together, these activities show how emissions reductions and removals can come from both natural systems and engineered solutions.

This graphic, in partnership with Visual Capitalist, shows U.S. carbon offsets by project type in 2026, using data from UC Berkeley’s Voluntary Registry Offsets Database.

A Market Led by Land-Based Projects

The breakdown of projects highlights both the scale of established offset categories and the smaller footprint of newer carbon capture technology.

Here is a table that shows U.S. carbon offsets by revised project bucket, project count, and issued credits.


Project Type

Projects

Credits Issued

Share of Issued Credits

Forestry & Land Use

586

266M

46%

Methane Capture

506

103M

18%

Refrigerants

439

68M

12%

Industrial & Foam Gases

84

87M

15%

Carbon Capture

12

22M

4%

Wind

12

13M

2%

Other

199

15M

3%

Total

1,838

573M

100.0%

Berkeley VROD project types were grouped into seven buckets. Forestry includes forest, grassland, and wetland projects; Methane includes landfill, manure, mine, wastewater, and biogas projects; Refrigerants and Industrial & Foam Gases include high-impact gas recovery, replacement, or destruction; Carbon Capture includes concrete, plastics, and EOR projects; Wind includes registry-listed wind offsets; Other includes smaller remaining categories. Excludes canceled, withdrawn, and inactive projects.

Across major voluntary registries, forestry and land use lead with 586 projects and 266 million credits, equal to 46% of issuance. Methane capture follows at 18%, while industrial and foam gases contribute 15%, and refrigerants add 12%.

Together, those four categories account for more than nine in 10 credits issued. By contrast, wind contributes 2%, other projects 3%, and carbon capture just 4%.

Why Carbon Capture is Important

Carbon capture accounts for only 12 projects and 22 million credits. That is a small share for a pathway often seen as important to hard-to-abate emissions and long-term net-zero plans.

The pipeline has also been thin. Only two new carbon capture projects have appeared in Berkeley’s registry since 2024, even after the U.S. Department of Energy said less than 5% of the capacity required for net zero by 2050 had been achieved.

Why Carbon Capture is Important

Carbon capture accounts for only 12 projects and 22 million credits. That is a small share for a pathway often seen as important to hard-to-abate emissions and long-term net-zero plans.

The pipeline has also been thin. Only two new carbon capture projects have appeared in Berkeley’s registry since 2024, even after the U.S. Department of Energy said less than 5% of the capacity required for net zero by 2050 had been achieved.

What It Means for American IOUs

While rising U.S. data center power demand is pushing load forecasts higher, the offset market still relies heavily on older project types rather than engineered removal.

Therefore, investor-owned utilities (IOUs) may need a broader playbook that pairs grid upgrades, firm supply, and procurement discipline with earlier support for carbon capture.

For example, PPL Corporation subsidiaries Kentucky Utilities and Louisville Gas and Electric are hosting a DOE-backed carbon capture project at Cane Run, showing how utilities can test these tools while planning for growth.

What It Means for American IOUs

While rising U.S. data center power demand is pushing load forecasts higher, the offset market still relies heavily on older project types rather than engineered removal.

Therefore, investor-owned utilities (IOUs) may need a broader playbook that pairs grid upgrades, firm supply, and procurement discipline with earlier support for carbon capture.

For example, PPL Corporation subsidiaries Kentucky Utilities and Louisville Gas and Electric are hosting a DOE-backed carbon capture project at Cane Run, showing how utilities can test these tools while planning for growth.