The Biden administration on Tuesday announced new rules to govern the use of voluntary carbon credits, seeking to bolster public confidence and new investments in an emissions reduction scheme that has come under mounting public criticism. 

Senior administration officials said the new policies are intended to be “guardrails” ensuring responsible participation in high-integrity voluntary carbon credit markets, or VCMs — a method by which companies and individuals can reduce their emissions profiles by financing renewable energy projects and other climate-friendly projects, such as reforestation, in other parts of the world.