Solving Climate, Naturally - May 2023 Roundup
Highlights of happenings in the world of nature-based solutions
May was a big month in the world of climate and nature-based solutions! Here’s a round-up of developments worth noting.
Don’t miss:
Zimbabwe’s government took control of in-country carbon credit production
Voluntary Carbon Market’s largest standard setting body Verra’s first and only CEO to date resigned
Mast Reforestation (previously DroneSeed) raised $15M from Carbon Streaming to accelerate its post-wildfire reforestation efforts in the US West
First European biodiversity credits were transacted in Sweden
The first Solving Climate, Naturally podcast of 2023 dropped featuring Ariel Hayward of Patch
What does this mean for nature-based solutions?
Biodiversity continues to attract buzz from corporates and investors. Initiatives like SBTN and initial biodiversity crediting efforts will help private capital start to grasp what “nature positive” efforts look like. A big open question remains as to how many companies will move from talk to action (aka dollars invested).
Verra’s leadership change could provide an opening for Verra to remake and rebrand itself in the wake of criticisms of its legacy programs and challenges managing the large influx of new supply and methodologies. Verra’s new interim CEO Judith Simon comes from a private sector tech background where she “drove enterprise-level transformative efforts.” We’re eager to see how that experience helps Verra meet the challenge of regaining trust and demonstrating its ability to evolve to meet the moment at this critical juncture for the market.
Zimbabwe’s move to halt carbon credit sales and mandate that 50% of future credit revenue goes to Zimbabwe, 20% to local investors, and max 30% of revenues to foreign investors could be good for Zimbabwe - if the move doesn’t tank investment in Zimbabwe carbon projects. This development will likely make investors who were already wary of investing in nature-based projects in the Global South due to geopolitical instability and market uncertainty even more hesitant to dive in. There’s a delicate balance for developing countries to strike between regulatory clarity, equity on benefit-sharing, and creating an environment attractive to foreign investors.
Money appears to still be flowing into nature-based carbon solutions as seen by Carbon Streaming’s $15M investment into Mast. Debt-for-Nature swaps like the one in Ecuador are a powerful alternative financing tool for conservation with the potential to drive climate benefits too. Big announcements from Microsoft, JPMChase and Frontier about corporate investments in engineered removal solutions, however, makes this podcast crew wonder: given the uncertainty around and need to boost confidence in nature-based solutions, where is the next big nature-based investment or positive story about NBS going to come from and when? Will someone (or some group) step up to create a similar advanced market commitment (a Frontier for nature if you will) to signal market demand for or confidence in the next generation of nature-based carbon projects?
The lawsuit against Delta is yet another example of corporations being targeted for carbon offsetting claims, making other companies increasingly wary of engaging in the carbon market at all. We should hold companies accountable to purchasing high integrity credits but acknowledge it’s an evolving market, companies and offset providers won’t get it perfect, and we should not let perfect be the enemy of the good when it comes to climate action. In the case of airlines, sustainable aviation fuel won’t be available at any meaningful scale for years. In the meantime, we will continue to fly and emit. If we want to address aviation emissions at any meaningful scale in this critical decade, real carbon credits have to be part of the equation. Lawsuits like the one against Delta that make companies disengage from the carbon market will just reduce the scale of climate impact made today when time is of the essence. We’re hopeful that transparency from companies on how they’re actually using offsets and agreement on what claims can be made when will build public trust that offsets are not a “get out of jail free card” for decarbonization but a tool to go above and beyond, enabling companies to push as much climate impact forward today as possible given constraints on addressing residual emissions.
Any developments you think we missed? Email us at solvingclimatenaturally@gmail.com.
Nature-Based Events
1t.org is hosting its US Summit in New York City June 13-15
Corporate Investments into Forestry & Biodiversity will be in London on October 4-5
GreenBiz is hosting its first ever Bloom23 - an event for corporate sustainability professionals focused on nature and biodiversity - in San Jose on October 24-25
Are there other nature-based events we should highlight? Email us at solvingclimatenaturally@gmail.com. And stay tuned for our next episode coming out by the end of June!