Wildlife Works Presents: Market Insights

A Global South Perspective on High-Quality REDD+ Projects

Last month, Indigenous-led organizations in 40+ countries worldwide united to call on global finance and climate communities to listen to their perspectives on high-quality #REDD + carbon credits.

Recent criticisms of forest carbon offsets have ignored the transformative social development and climate adaptation investments of high-integrity REDD+ projects, and have put this critical source of finance at risk.

“REDD+ is now the engine that is moving forest economies. It has brought us together to think about the problems of climate change and act in new ways,” says Joseph Mwakima , Wildlife Works Community Relations Officer. In a recent media briefing, Joseph elaborated on the positive impacts of REDD+, such as the thousands of bursaries funded by carbon revenue from the Kasigau Corridor project, which are already creating generational effects. “Students have gone out to learn, and are now coming back to the community as teachers, nurses, doctors, and business owners.”

There are many Global North voices debating the efficacy of carbon credits in the fight against climate change, yet few have asked IPLCs for their perspective on the matter, despite the critical role they play in protecting and restoring nature.

Click here to read the open letter from FSC Indigenous Foundation , Peoples Forests Partnership , The Indigenous Peoples' of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC) , and Alianza Mesoamericana de Pueblos y Bosques .

Government Updates in the VCM

Zimbabwe has made moves to void carbon credit deals in the country, and Zimbabwe's government will now take 50% of gross income from carbon credit sales. Zimbabwe's announcement reflects a trend of governments looking at how to utilize the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) to finance and meet their national climate targets. As Jeremy Freund , Chief Technical Officer at Wildlife Works put it, "We need a truly nested standard where projects are aligned with national programs and vice versa. A voluntary market that isn’t aligned with national government interests cannot succeed."

In Indonesia, some REDD+ developers are voicing concerns about the government's plans to withhold credits from projects in order to meet their NDC. "Rushing to frame the decisions by [these countries] as ‘nationalization risks’ exposes a sense of entitlement to access those resources by the Global North,” said Rich Gilmore , Chief Executive Officer at investment manager Carbon Growth Partners . “We need to acknowledge that the past 200 years of resource extraction have miserably failed people and the planet. And if we want the carbon market to scale, we need to respect the right of the nations of the south to determine their own rules.”

Reasons for VCM Optimism

Corporate climate commitments are increasing , and many of these commitments rely on substantial purchases of carbon credits. New research from MSCI Carbon Markets shows that corporations who invest in high-quality carbon credits also have rigorous sustainability plans to reduce their own emissions, and are decarbonizing at twice the rate of companies that do not use carbon credits.

Carbon credit retirements have remained high as companies look to demonstrate climate action. Despite difficult economic conditions, Q1 had the highest level of retirements on record (excluding crypto-related retirements). Pressure is mounting for corporates and governments to demonstrate action today, which includes the purchase of carbon credits. Recent market volatility was a result of misinformation, and two new reports from IETA and the 世界银行 expect prices to increase and demand to rise in the coming months.

Click here to read the World Bank's report: "State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2023"

Click here to read IETA's report: "2023 GHG Market Sentiment Survey"

Wildlife Works Highlights

Our Global Policy and External Affairs Director, Anna Lehmann , recently spoke with CNBC Africa on how to produce high-quality carbon credits in Africa. Click here to learn more.

New camera trap footage shows endangered bonobos thriving at the Mai Ndombe REDD+ project in the DRC. Click here to watch.

Henry Kronk , a correspondent for OPIS, A Dow Jones Company , recently visited the Kasigau Corridor REDD+ project in Kenya to understand how community members at the longest standing REDD+ project experience the project’s impact. “Many community members participating in the project see carbon offsetting as a means to an end, and the ‘co-benefits’ the project delivers have a direct impact on their day-to-day life.” Click here to read more.