目次

ニュースレターに登録して、最新のカーボン関連情報を受け取りましょう。

この記事をシェア

TL;DR

Project-based REDD+ strategies face challenges. Jurisdictional REDD+ (JREDD+) strategies can solve them, though transitioning to a jurisdictional approach can be complex. Nested REDD+ strategies offer a practical solution. Keep reading to learn more about these three REDD+ approaches, the future of REDD+ in the carbon market, and how Sylvera can help.

Forests are essential to life on earth, but we're cutting them down at an alarming rate, accelerating climate change and threatening the livelihoods of a billion people who depend on these ecosystems.

Enter REDD+, a promising mechanism that pays countries and communities to keep forests standing.

There's just one problem: traditional project-based approaches have stumbled, facing criticism for inflated baselines and questionable results. Fortunately, a new strategy called jurisdictional REDD+ promises to address these shortcomings by thinking bigger.

This shift could unlock the massive funding needed to protect our remaining tropical forests, but it comes with its own set of challenges and opportunities.

In this article, we explain what REDD+ is, the difference between project-based REDD+ and jurisdictional REDD+, and how these approaches can be combined into a single, practical solution.

REDD+ 101

REDD+とは、森林の持続可能な管理や森林炭素貯留量の保全・強化など、より広範な活動とともに、森林減少や森林劣化による温室効果ガスの排出を削減する活動を指します。

It is now widely accepted that there is no route to limiting global temperature increases to 1.5°C, or even 2°C, without halting emissions from forest loss. Apart from aggravating the climate crisis, forest loss poses serious threats to biodiversity and affects the livelihoods of an estimated 1.6 billion people who depend on forest resources. Taking action to protect forests is an urgent priority, but requires significant sums of money, hundreds of billions of dollars more than we currently spend each year. 

Carbon markets have long been recognized as a great potential source of this finance, which is where REDD+ credits come in. As of April 2022, over 398 million REDD+ credits have been issued on voluntary carbon markets (VCMs), representing a quarter of all voluntary credits ever issued. 

Governments and multilateral organizations have also taken an interest in REDD+. The term first came to prominence in UNFCCC talks in 2007, and the Paris Agreement brings closer links between individual REDD+ projects and their host countries' REDD+ strategies.

But REDD+ has never quite achieved its full potential as a large-scale funding mechanism to pay tropical forest countries and local communities for avoided forest emissions. In part, this is due to the challenges that traditional, project-based approaches to REDD+ have faced and the reputational damage this has caused. 

プロジェクトベースのREDD+

To date, REDD+ credits on the VCMs have been issued by individual projects. This is when REDD+ activities are focused on a defined area of forest (sometimes small, sometimes hundreds of thousands of hectares). A baseline level of deforestation is established for that area, informed by historic trends and activity in one or more nearby, similar reference areas. The number of credits issued by the project depends on how much deforestation has reduced relative to this baseline. For a more in depth exploration of project-based REDD+, check out our REDD+ White Paper

Individual projects have been a successful approach to get REDD+ credits to market. Furthermore, many of the criticisms that have plagued REDD+ around MRV (monitoring, reporting, and verification) are being successfully addressed through the effective deployment of emerging technologies, including high resolution, multi-model satellite imagery, machine learning, Lidar, and real-time data transmission. 

Our in-depth analysis of REDD+ projects currently on the market shows that many REDD+ credits represent verifiable, additional, and long-term GHG emission reductions, with measurable co-benefits.

However, there are also a number of projects with serious threats to their integrity. Unfortunately, these examples have damaged the reputation of REDD+ credits to many market participants, and have hindered the scaling of REDD+. 

The main challenges to project-based REDD+

REDD+ projects face significant challenges. Some of the more prominent ones include:

  • ベースラインの水増し(基準地域の選択ミスを含む)
  • 森林減少の過少報告(漏れを含む)
  • 森林消失による永続リスク
  • 土地の保有と権利に関するリスク

Either individually, or in concert, these shortcomings with specific projects have led to accusations of greenwashing against companies using credits from these projects to offset their emissions. 

管轄権アプローチへの移行が、こうした問題の多くに対処する一助となることが期待されます。

The big advantages of jurisdictional approaches to REDD+

Jurisdictional REDD+ is not a new idea. However, until recently, jurisdictional approaches to REDD+ have not been used to issue forest carbon credits to the VCMs. Instead, it has been used as a basis for results-based finance agreements, either between countries or with multilateral organizations such as the World Bank (e.g. through their Forest Carbon Partnership Facility).

The fundamental difference to project-level REDD+ is that all the forest in a national (i.e. whole country) or subnational (e.g. state or province) jurisdiction must be considered when setting a baseline and monitoring deforestation. With the rise of remote-sensing and artificial intelligence, this can realistically be done to a high level of accuracy, which leads to a few bug advantages.

過大なベースラインとオーバークレジットのリスクの低減

国際的な報告基準に沿った手法を用い、管轄地域全体の森林減少を考慮することで、ベースラインの森林減少が誤って報告されるリスクは低くなります。これにより、発行されるすべてのクレジットが、大気中に到達するのを防止した1トンのCO2を本当に表していることが保証されます。

漏水監視

漏出とは、森林伐採が単にプロジェクト地域内から監視対象外の別の地域に移動するだけで、全体的な森林伐採の減少が見られないことです。森林伐採を管轄区域全体で監視することは、森林伐採の移転が検知され、説明されることを意味します。

規模の経済

正確なMRVに投資するには費用がかかり、REDD+プログラム開発の障壁になりかねません。国や地域が連携することで、資源をより効率的に活用することができ、また、先行的な資金源へのアクセスも向上します。 

政策や規制の変更を奨励

このプログラムは州または国全体で実施され、政府によって監督されるため、管轄権に基づくアプローチは、政治、政策、規制のツールを使って森林排出に取り組むことを直接奨励し、プロジェクトベースのREDD+では実現不可能なことを可能にします。

ネステッドREDD+(ネステッドREDDプラス

Nested REDD+ projects are aligned with jurisdictional baselines and deforestation monitoring. Essentially, this is an intermediate step between the two approaches discussed, and may offer a practical solution to the criticisms of project-level REDD+ while smoothing the transition to jurisdictional approaches.

Nesting is still in its infancy and does not have a widely accepted definition or approach when implemented. How a country structures REDD+ nesting approaches is linked to its carbon ownership rights. While many countries are willing to transfer the right to generate mitigation outcomes/carbon credits to private entities, this is not always the case. Hence, countries' nesting approaches will differ widely on the degree of autonomy that the individual projects have outside of the jurisdictional approach.

Some countries might require individual projects to transition fully into a jurisdictional REDD+ program with no separate accounting or crediting system. Others might allow individual projects to keep crediting independently. Several countries are including nesting approaches in their REDD+ strategies. 

The future of REDD+ in the carbon market

A move towards jurisdictional and nested REDD+ certainly seems to be the direction of travel for the market. For example, Verra's proposed updates to their avoided deforestation methodologies adopt an approach aligned with nesting. And the IC-VCM explicitly considers jurisdictional approaches in its Assessment Framework. 

A big driver of this move is the international policy context. Unlike the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement expects all parties to track their national GHG emissions and commit to targets. Countries set mitigation and adaptation goals (called Nationally Determined Contributions or NDCs) and establish plans to achieve them. This is new for developing countries, which happen to host the world's tropical forests.

Under this new scenario, developing countries have become much more interested in using all mitigation outcomes they host to meet their NDCs. This includes emissions reductions from existing and future individual REDD+ carbon projects. Because of this, some host countries are designing ways to integrate them into a broader jurisdictional program.

  プロジェクトレベルのREDD+ ネステッドREDD+(ネステッドREDDプラス REDD+の管轄地域
スケール 明確な森林面積 明確な森林面積 管轄地域全体(国または準国家)
ベースライン 特定のエリア用に独自に設定 多様なアプローチ Average deforestation across the whole jurisdiction, aligned with international reporting standards
フレームワーク 独立した基準(例:Verra)または国の方法論 独立規格(例:ヴェッラJNR) To date mostly national or international frameworks (e.g. World Bank's FCPF). Independent standards emerging e.g. ART TREES
設立 現在までに、主にVCMを通じて ネスト化されたプロジェクトの開発は始まったばかり To date, mostly result-based financing; Imminent plans to access VCMS
長所
  • 小規模の方が実施しやすい場合が多い
  • 実績
  • 地域の背景とニーズを考慮
  • 漏れの監視強化
  • より信頼性の高いベースライン
  • 管轄区域のアプローチを導入するよりも移行が容易
  • スケールメリット(MRVコストなど
  • 自動的に考慮される漏れ
  • 土地の権利をより明確に
短所
  • ベースラインはしばしばインフレ
  • 漏れの監視が困難
  • まだ証明されていない方法論
  • 森林破壊の地域的要因を無視
  • 管理が複雑
  • ベースラインを設定するのに十分なサンプルを得ることが困難
  • 利益分配のリスク

Regardless of the type of REDD+, credits need to be high quality

Neither approach can guarantee good quality.

Although nested and jurisdictional approaches might help address some systemic risks, scrutiny is still important to ensure credits deliver on their claims.

The factors that identify quality will be diverse and complex, and buyers should continue to conduct thorough due diligence on each and every credit they purchase. 

Sylvera 取り組み

At Sylvera, we've developed comprehensive tools to help navigate this complex transition towards jurisdictional REDD+ and identify the risks and opportunities arising from this evolution.

Ratings for individual projects

Our carbon credit Ratings help buyers conduct thorough due diligence on REDD+ investments. We've already rated 85% of existing individual REDD+ credits in voluntary carbon markets, including nested projects, and we're developing frameworks specifically for jurisdictional REDD+ projects. Our Ratings evaluate how well individual projects implement their chosen methodology, revealing where project-specific implementation might create future challenges with jurisdictional programs.

Jurisdictional Intel

Our Jurisdictional Intel provides essential market intelligence for understanding the JREDD+ landscape:

Country Assessment: Risk and readiness scores for 33 actively engaged jurisdictions, evaluation of policy frameworks and implementation capacity, and identification of overlaps between REDD+ activities at different scales.

Methodology Comparison: Side-by-side analysis of ART TREES, VCS JNR, and other methodologies, assessment of baseline setting approaches and their compatibility, and identification of methodological strengths and limitations across different standards.

Programs Tracker: Analysis of supply pipeline and market dynamics, real-time monitoring of upcoming JREDD+ program issuances, and tracking of buyer interest and sales activity across jurisdictions.

Biomass data

Sylvera's biomass data addresses this foundational problem by providing standardized, high-accuracy forest carbon data that can serve both individual projects and jurisdictional programs. Using technology that's 6x more accurate than traditional methods, our approach delivers annual biomass estimates across the world's most important forest regions - ensuring more accurate integrity assessments of forestry projects.

メソドロジープロファイル

Our Methodology Profiles provide essential guidance for navigating the fragmented landscape of REDD+ approaches. By conducting detailed analyses of project methodologies, such as Verra's VM0048, we evaluate the specific risks tied to each approach's baseline setting, monitoring, and data requirements.

This enables buyers and investors identify approaches that minimize risks as markets transition toward jurisdictional programs.

Want to learn more about how Sylvera can help you navigate the future of REDD+? Book a demo to talk to a qualified expert

Want to learn more about Sylvera's Ratings? Book a demo to talk to a qualified expert.

Clarification on the use of ‘REDD+': REDD+ is defined by the UNFCCC strictly to relate to activities in the forest sector that reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, as well as the sustainable management of forests and the conservation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries. Over time the term has been co-opted for use in the VCMs to cover avoided planned and unplanned deforestation projects, with the scope of activities in these projects not exactly aligned with the UNFCCC definition. Now, the definition of REDD+ is being stretched even further by some jurisdictional standards. For example, ART TREES (Architecture for REDD+ Transactions - The REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard) methodologies also recognize activities in HFLD (high forest, low deforestation) jurisdictions and emissions removals through forest restoration and replanting. Here, we use REDD+ in broad terms to cover all these activities, for clarity throughout. 

FAQs about jurisdictional REDD+

What is the jurisdictional approach?

The jurisdictional approach to REDD+ monitors and measures deforestation across an entire national or subnational jurisdiction (like a state or province) rather than focusing on individual forest patches. Instead of setting baselines for specific project areas, jurisdictional REDD+ establishes average deforestation rates across the whole jurisdiction using methodologies aligned with international reporting standards. This comprehensive approach is overseen by government entities and directly incentivizes policy and regulatory changes to tackle forest emissions at scale.

How does jurisdictional REDD+ help with forest degradation?

Jurisdictional REDD+ addresses forest degradation by monitoring forests across entire jurisdictions, which prevents deforestation from simply shifting to unmonitored areas (leakage). By tracking all forest activity within a jurisdiction's boundaries, any displaced deforestation gets detected and accounted for. The approach also enables governments to implement policy-level interventions that address the root causes of forest degradation, such as agricultural expansion and logging practices.

Can Sylvera help you invest in better REDD+ projects?

Yes! Sylvera offers a comprehensive suite of tools to help you navigate REDD+ investments. Our Ratings provide due diligence on individual projects, while our Jurisdictional Intel offers market intelligence on 33 actively engaged jurisdictions, methodology comparisons, and program tracking. Our high-accuracy biomass data provides the standardized forest carbon foundation that’s needed for reliable accounting. And our Methodology Profiles help you understand the specific risks of different REDD+ approaches. Together, these tools give you the insights needed to identify quality REDD+ investments across all scales and approaches.

著者について

ポリー・トンプソン
政策アソシエイト

Sylveraポリシー・アソシエイト。UCLで気候変動の修士号、ケンブリッジ大学で自然科学の学位を取得。元教師。政策チームでは、気候変動とボランタリーカーボン・マーケットに関する専門知識の共有とコミュニケーションを担当。

カルメン・アルバレス・カンポ
管轄区域のポリシー・リーダー

カルメン・アルバレス・カンポは、気候政策と炭素市場の専門家であり、国際政策と管轄権のアプローチに重点を置いています。 国内外の気候政策やカーボンプライシング政策の立案・実施に助言。また、民間企業が炭素市場や気候政策の発展に伴う移行リスクと機会を評価するのを支援した経験もあります。 Sylvera、第6条と管轄権に基づくREDD+アプローチに焦点を当て、買い手、投資家、売り手の観点から、公共部門と民間部門がこれらの空間をナビゲートするのを支援しています。

炭素市場、グリーンファイナンス、気候政策の専門家。元コロンビア大学フルブライト奨学生で、英国金融セクター、英国政府、世界銀行、国連気候変動事務局とも協力。Sylvera 政策担当副社長として、ボランタリーカーボンマーケットのインテリジェンスと、より広範な気候・市場政策との接点に取り組むチームを率いています。

市場をリードする一貫した カーボンデータ、ツール、ワークフローソリューションをご覧ください。