Wildlife Works is thrilled to see the Biden Administration’s “New Principles for High-Integrity Voluntary Carbon Markets," as they provide a clear and much needed reminder of the critical importance of the work we and our community partners do in stopping deforestation and biodiversity loss.
We applaud the Biden Administration for clearly and unequivocally stating that this work must continue, and that the voluntary carbon market must overcome current challenges so that there can be fair and consistent financial support for a world with thriving forests and biodiversity, where forest communities are at the center of solutions.
For decades, there has been a community of project developers, policy experts, and other VCM stakeholders diligently working to ensure climate markets support a just transition for Global South communities. We quietly worked for years, without need for fanfare or public recognition, bringing much needed market finance to forest communities. We assumed our results would speak for themselves. However, it has recently become clear that those who oppose market- based climate solutions on ideological grounds, are now dominating the conversation. These vocal critics offer no clear alternative, except perhaps a complete overhaul of global society.
It is within this context that Biden's Voluntary Carbon Market Guidelines take on extreme importance. It is crucial that those who have seen the market’s transformative power for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in the Global South, step forward. To help the market reach its potential, we must be vocal and proud of the incredible work happening all around the world, even as we willingly acknowledge the challenges that market thinking continues to pose to global society.
In our work in countries throughout the Global South, the demand to develop new projects has not waned. Most recently, forested African countries have publicly demanded that the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI) include the use of carbon credits in their net zero guidance. The increased show of appetite to purchase high-integrity credits is rebounding, as evidenced by the recent 20 million dollar commitment from the Symbiosis coalition.
From our point of view as a community-based forest carbon project developer who has been focused on high quality for two decades, the Biden administrations’ Principles for Responsible Participation in Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCMs) align squarely with our operating principles. They provide welcome recognition of the importance of our work and of the efforts of the broader VCM stakeholders to strengthen the integrity of the broader market.
Principles 1 and 2 specifically apply to project developers, as they pertain to “supply integrity.” These principles get at the heart of what we believe truly matters for nature-based carbon credits: ensuring that local communities are at the center of the solutions to ensure long-lasting benefits for the communities and climate.
Our REDD+ forest carbon projects are designed from the outset to first and foremost benefit local communities through job creation and community-determined development projects. These initiatives are already having transformational, generational impacts, which has made conservation and sustainable development achievable.
Additionally, we authored the first methodology for avoided ecosystem conversion that allowed Kasigau Corridor REDD+ to be the first verified REDD+ project in the VCM and charted a path for other developers to increase the use of this mechanism to protect forests. We are now working with industry stakeholders to ensure developers have better guidelines for the use of methodologies that result in high integrity credits.
Wildlife Works supports and is often engaged in the advance of scientific capability, which inevitably leads to updates of accounting frameworks and methodologies for calculating baselines. As the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) moves toward a nested approach, a move endorsed by the Biden administration, Wildlife Works is leading in this transition. The Mai Ndombe REDD+ Project was the first project to be nested into a jurisdictional program under the National Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Our Developers Best Practice Guide, written in partnership with TNC, details the use of nested project baseline allocation from assessed risk, which presents a way for host governments to use VCM finance to protect their most threatened forests while achieving their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) towards the Paris Agreement.
These few examples show how we have always used the most updated scientific techniques and policy tools of the time to design our projects. In this effort, we have spearheaded innovation, and just as importantly, embraced continual improvement to strengthen the integrity of the market.
As the market evolves, we will continue to stay ahead of quality standards, prioritizing our community-centered values. We support the work that standards are doing to ensure developers have better guidelines for the use of methodologies that result in high integrity credits.
Of course, the successful implementation, enforcement, and further development of the Biden Administration’s principles will require careful navigation of the inherent complexities of REDD+ projects. Most importantly, this endorsement from a leading world government underscores the importance of the VCM in addressing climate change. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with other VCM stakeholders to enhance market integrity and cement the role of high-quality carbon credits in mitigating climate change.
