An investigation by The Guardian published on the 18th January 2023 focused on Verra’s climate projects ‘failing to represent genuine carbon reductions’. Whilst it’s important to call out the flaws of certain carbon credits and offsets, we think it’s important to highlight the vital work of restoring forests and how we’re ensuring transparency of our operations.
At COP26 in 2021, governments were hailed for an unprecedented £14bn deal committing to saving the world’s forests, with more than 100 leaders pledging to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030. Forests around the world are at a tipping point and finance is needed to fund the emissions reductions that forest conservation enables.
However the funding from governments only represents a fraction of what is needed to reach this goal. Climate experts believe global carbon markets will provide the funding needed to halt, and even reverse, deforestation in the areas that need it most. Verified Carbon Standards' work has enabled billions of dollars to be channelled into urgent climate action, by certifying projects that avoid, reduce and remove emissions. Many of these projects achieve excellent results and bring lots of benefits to local communities by restoring biodiversity and conserving ecosystems.
Our mission is to restore our world’s forests in areas that need it the most . With our team of forestry experts, we carefully hand-picked a selection of projects, supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals and providing a positive impact on both the environment and local communities. We’re constantly reassessing the projects we’re working on and measuring the impact they’re having through a stringent due diligence process .
The Guardian article underscores that not all projects are high quality, and this needs to be rectified to avoid the risk of companies and individuals moving away from investing in the protection of the world’s forests.
The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM), an independent governance body for the voluntary carbon market, hopes to standardise what a high quality credit looks like . This in turn should create more transparency.
Advancements in technology, such as satellite imaging and LiDAR remote sensing methodologies, will help monitor the status of the world’s forests and reduce cases of malpractice.
It’s also vital that companies resort to offsetting as complementary to their net zero strategy whilst focusing on avoiding and reducing emissions in the first place.
Treeapp is committed to supporting projects which show a tangible impact for people and the planet. Our work spans across 5 continents and supports communities most affected by the effects of climate change.
These carbon offset projects are centred around helping communities become forest stewards: managing their land sustainably over decades to come. Forestry projects, investing in renewables as well as removing plastic out of the ocean are some of the social goals we support.
Transparency is one of our core values so if you have any questions, drop us a message at hello@thetreeapp.org !
