Amid the global decarbonisation effort, nature-based climate solutions such as habitat conservation, reforestation, avoided deforestation and improved landscape management have been gaining momentum as credible mitigation options.

The past year saw an explosion in corporate demand for carbon credits generated from nature-based climate solutions. Verra, one of the main standard-setting bodies for voluntary carbon markets, reported that nature-based solutions accounted for more than two-thirds of its total issuances in the first quarter of 2021, compared with just 38 per cent in 2016.

With a surge in companies making net-zero commitments, nature-based carbon credits can help companies offset emissions after they have exhausted all possible ways to first reduce emissions.

But nature-based climate solutions currently face many challenges in credibility, scalability and cost. To tackle these pain points, many innovations have sprouted up, although they are still in the early stages of development.

Candace Vinke, director of nature-based innovations at Verra, explained that incorporating these technologies into existing methodologies of the voluntary carbon market is a complicated process.

“As a standard-setter, before we can introduce new technology innovations within our methodologies, we need to understand the science behind them and the robustness of the approach. What is the uncertainty associated with them? What types of rules do we need to set to make sure there’s standardisation? It’s an exciting time right now, but it’s certainly complex,” said Vinke.

Accounting for two-thirds of all voluntary carbon market transactions, Verra plays an important role in enabling the credibility of carbon credits for nature-based solutions.

“We’re figuring out what the sweet spot is between encouraging innovations, and making sure that they’re based on robust and rigorous science. So we reach out to our working groups on a regular basis to help us assess different requirements within our programmes,” she said.

Read the full article about nature-based solutions by Sonia Sambhi and Rachel Ashton Lim at Eco-Business.