How Many Carbon Credits Per Tree: Calculating the Environmental Impact

There are multiple ways to generate carbon credits.

There are various methods - or carbon project types - that essentially involve planting or protecting trees. These have traditionally been popular, because trees absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) naturally, which removes greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and helps reduce the world's carbon footprint.

This scientific fact raises two questions: how much CO2 does each tree absorb, and how many carbon credits is this worth? The answer to both questions is "it depends," because carbon absorption is contingent on tree species, environmental conditions, and other factors.

In this article, we explain how many carbon credits you can expect to generate per tree, why this is a difficult equation to solve, and how Sylvera makes the process more accurate and reliable.

Why There’s No Simple Answer

Afforestation and reforestation are popular terms in climate change circles.

(If you're not familiar with them, afforestation is when trees are planted in new areas, while reforestation is when damaged forests—due to deforestation, forest fires, etc.—are restored.)

There are many types of nature-based carbon credits available, but the most common forestry credits fall into three categories: ARR (afforestation, reforestation and revegetation), REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation), and IFM (improved forest management).

These are popular because tree planting and proper forest management help with carbon sequestration. It's science. Trees absorb CO2 through their leaves. Trees then convert the CO2 into glucose via photosynthesis, which nourishes them and releases oxygen into the atmosphere. So, by planting trees, you remove CO2 and improve air quality.

"Great!" you're thinking. "If I plant 100 trees, I'll generate 100 carbon credits." Not so fast...

A "One tree equals one carbon credit" narrative is misleading. Mostly because every tree is different and, therefore, has different carbon storage potential.

• Species: Some trees absorb carbon emissions better than others. For example, mangroves are known for their above average carbon capture abilities.
• Location: Trees in tropical areas, such as Brazil and Thailand, live in ideal climates. This allows them to grow bigger and faster, with increased carbon reduction capabilities.
• Conditions: Trees that have adequate access to water, sunlight, and quality soil are generally healthier. This helps in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• Age: The age of the tree matters. Young trees absorb CO2 quicker, but mature trees can absorb a lot more of it, making them better carbon sinks.

As you can see, not every situation is equal—at least when it comes to carbon sequestration by trees. This makes it tough to calculate how many carbon credits per tree, but not impossible…

How Carbon Credits are Calculated from Trees—the Truth

To accurately calculate carbon credits from trees, you need to understand each trees' above ground biomass. This is almost impossible to do without cutting down the tree or using modern technology. (Side note: Sylvera has the biomass information you need. Stay tuned.)

For the purpose of this exercise, let's pretend that the average tree in a planted forest weighs 1,000kg. We know that 50% of a tree's weight is water. So, the dry mass of our tree is 500kg. We also know that 47.5% of a tree's dry mass is carbon. If we multiply 500kg by 0.475, we get 237.5kg. In other words, roughly a quarter of our tree's total weight is carbon.

Science tells us it takes 3.67kg of CO2 to create 1kg of carbon in a tree. If we multiply this number by the amount of carbon in our tree, we get 871.63kg of CO2. (3.67 x 237.5 = 871.63)

Now we know how much CO2 our tree has sequestered in its lifetime. To determine the amount it sequesters each year, simply divide the above figure by the tree's age. Most 1,000kg trees are 30 to 40 years old. If we assume our tree is 35, it sequesters almost 25kg of CO2 annually

Remember, this is just an estimation. You should account for potential leakage, buffers, and permanence when making your own calculations. Still, it's a great place to start. Basically, it tells us that a single tree rarely equals a whole carbon credit, but an entire forest might hit that mark.

Why Most Projects Still Get It Wrong

Now you know how to calculate carbon credits from trees. Unfortunately, this knowledge isn't enough, which is why most projects still get it wrong when it comes to assigning credits.

If you remember, the carbon credit calculation process relies on an accurate estimation of a tree's above ground biomass. Most project developers rely on allometric equations to make these estimations. But these formulas are built on, at most, 4,004 destructively sampled trees. It's often fewer, sometimes less than 100.

What does this mean? That most estimation models are outdated, biased towards small trees, and not geographically representative. In fact, based on our research, conventional estimates of AGB carry an error of 74%—even when applied to major market players. Simply put, you can't trust their estimates.

And to make things even more complex - when considering which project types to include in your portfolio, each type of project has strengths and weaknesses in terms of quality. The most important point here is that generalizations can’t be made about project type and quality. Some REDD+ projects are amazing for people and the planet, some have no carbon benefits and yield negative impacts on local communities. The same range in quality can be found in IFM and ARR projects.

Good news: Sylvera is building a better way. Thanks to modern technology and a relentless passion for a more sustainable future, Sylvera has created a much more reliable model.

The Sylvera Difference: More Trees, More Precision, More Trust

Allometric equations are based on an astonishingly small sample set—often less than 100 trees. Worse, these trees are disproportionately small, which makes estimates of biomass for large tree species uncertain or inaccurate.

Sylvera, on the other hand, used terrestrial lidar technology to measure more than 25,000 trees and collect 450B+ datapoints across 220,000+ hectares. Then we used this information to create training data that produce estimates that are 10 times less biased than allometries.

If that weren't enough, other remote sensing models use training data that does NOT accurately represent the areas most forest carbon projects take place. In contrast, Sylvera has collected ground-truth data that represents 80% of NBS projects geographies. For clarity, 30% of said data comes from Africa, 32% from Latin America, and 38% from SE Asia and Australia.

Is your head spinning? We don't blame you. Just know this: The Sylvera platform isn't based on outdated allometric models. Instead, we built our own models using direct 3D forest measurement technology and techniques. This leads to WAY more accurate results.

What This Means for Buyers, Developers, and Investors

It doesn't matter if you're a buyer, developer, or investor. You can benefit from the accuracy of the Sylvera platform and the data we make available. In fact, you can benefit in three ways:

• Stronger Ratings: Sylvera has the most reliable ratings in the carbon credit market. Why? Because our efforts are based on more data and are of free third-party bias. As an added bonus, ratings for many carbon projects are easily accessed inside our platform.
• Higher Quality Credits: If you're a buyer or investor, you want to purchase the highest quality credits. That way the project isn't scrapped before you receive what you bought. (Plus, contributing to actual global carbon neutrality feels good.) Sylvera rates carbon projects around the world, so you can buy quality carbon credits with confidence.
• Better Pricing: Finally, Sylvera makes it easy to secure better carbon pricing. Use our platform to access pricing trends—over time and across vintages. Then jump on the best deals when you see them, whether it's a reforestation project or helping farmers reduce emissions while working their agricultural lands. Sylvera makes it possible.

Case in point: Sylvera's highly accurate forest carbon measurements found 1.5 - 2.2 times more carbon in Mozambique than IPCC defaults showed. With this information, buyers and investors can make informed decisions about carbon projects in the area.

Stop Asking “How Many Credits per Tree?" Start Asking If the Data Is Real

Here's the truth: project credibility doesn't come from averages, it comes from evidence. The problem with most carbon offset projections is they're based on unreliable biomass data. Since biomass data is key to real impact (not just fake net zero emissions goals) this is problematic.

At the end of the day, if your carbon credits aren't backed by trustworthy data, you're not improving your business's carbon footprint. You're not even protecting your business from fines and bad press. After all, bad projects could get scrapped, leaving you in a tight spot. Purchasing carbon credits based on unreliable data is purchasing risk, plain and simple.

Explore How Sylvera Measures the Real Impact of Nature

Sylvera offers ratings, tools, and data for carbon credit developers, buyers, and investors.

Our platform will help you discover exciting carbon projects around the world. Our Pre-Issuance solution will enable you to conduct in-depth due diligence in early stage projects before they start. And our solution will also let you track these projects to make sure they remain viable. And that's only some of what Sylvera’s carbon data platform can do. Request a demo to see the full extent of our industry leading solution.