Climate, Nature & Communities: The Impact of Voluntary Carbon Markets

Last month’s London Climate Action Week (LCAW) saw the global climate community converge on London for a 9-day series of events and discussions focussed around the themes of financing the global climate transition, delivering a net zero and resilient UK, mobilising whole society climate action and the road to climate ambition at COP30.

Not wanting to miss out on what was on offer, the Innovation Zero team kicked off the week at the Salesforce Tower for a discussion on the role of High Integrity Forest Carbon Credits in supporting climate and nature strategies.

Hosted by Salesforce and in partnership with the LEAF Coalition, Natural Climate Solution Alliance and UK Government, speakers for the event included:

• Eron Bloomgarden, Founder & CEO, Emergent / Coordinator of the LEAF Coalition

• Adele Cheli, Sustainability Partnerships and Strategy Director, GSK
• Giulia Carbone, Director – Nature for Climate, WBCSD
• Tim Christopherson, VP – Climate Action, Salesforce
• Mark Kenber, Executive Director, Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative

Set against the backdrop of the London Skyline, the event opened with an address from Mark Kenber, emphasising the catalytic potential of voluntary carbon markets to mobilise the capital required to accelerate meaningful global climate action and called on buyers of forest carbon credits to take action to reduce the risks of climate change before it is too late.

The panel that followed highlighted the benefits to companies of building a carbon credit portfolio that helps to reduce emissions beyond their own value chain, how by working with early-stage project developers companies can help improve project impact and integrity and the necessity for governments, companies and NGOs to work together to scale the market and drive meaningful action to protect and restore forest ecosystems.  

Some of the key takeaways from the day included:

• Why forests? Achieving the goal of the Paris Agreement demands action to address deforestation, which accounts for roughly 10-15% of greenhouse gas emissions. VCMs can unlock the finance needed to protect and restore forest ecosystems at scale and significantly reduce deforestation by the end of the decade, while also providing a host of unique co-benefits for climate, biodiversity and project level actors, such as local communities who directly benefit from the revenue streams generated through these projects.
• Shifting Incentives: Under our current system, companies who choose to purchase carbon credits do so at the risk of being accused of greenwashing and acting irresponsibly in their approach to addressing climate change, whereas those who do nothing face no criticism. This reputational risk creates a clear lack of incentives for responsible investment in carbon credits. How do we create a system that stimulates demand for forest-based carbon credits by recognising and rewarding companies who responsibly utilise VCMs as part of their net zero strategy and hold accountable those who fail to take action?
• Policy-Driven Action: While VCMs have the potential to unlock significant levels of climate finance, voluntary carbon action should not be seen as a substitute for policy-driven action and regulation covering every sector and country across the world. As we fast approach a post 1.5 degree world, action and regulation at the policy-level will be key to scaling VCMs and accessing their full potential as a tool for climate action.

The closing remarks from Eron Bloomgarden re-emphasised the opportunity we have to end deforestation through shifting the incentives and mobilising the finance needed to enact change before it is too late and these forests and ecosystems are lost for good.  

Nature is fundamental to our journey to a net zero future and we came away from the event feeling optimistic that forest protection and restoration was attracting the attention of corporates and stakeholders who have the resources to enact meaningful change through VCMs.

Nature was a topic that featured across our Oceans & Water, Carbon Markets and Main Stage Forums at Innovation Zero 2024, underscoring both its importance and value to our planet. As we look ahead to Innovation Zero 2025, we are excited to announce the inauguration of our two-day Nature, Land & Seas forum. This new forum will feature high-level discussions around nature, agriculture, land management and blue economy and freshwater issues, with an aim to catalyse the action and innovations needed to address the multitude of threats facing our natural environment.
 

Written by Jonathan Marriage, Content Manager, Innovation Zero