What does your organization do within the forestry carbon markets?

EcoSecurities is actively engaged in forestry carbon markets in a variety of ways. These include connecting forestry projects to buyers, contributing to the evolving technical framework for forest carbon accounting, delivering pilot cases that can inform the larger REDD strategy once it goes mainstream, and trying to represent the private sector view in international negotiations, etc. Sometimes we partner with forestry project owners for longer relationships, but we also work as consultants on a broad range of projects and have done so for 10+ years.

What do you think are the most exciting developments in this area at the moment?

The most exciting development in this area at the moment is, unequivocally, the evolving US domestic legislation. The Waxman-Markey bill passed by the House of Representatives in June not only shows initial signs of what the demand for REDD could look like, it also reflects general pro-REDD sentiment in the US. We are tracking this legislation, as well as developments in the Senate, and are advising our clients on where, when and how to best enter this still evolving framework.

What are the biggest challenges facing the forestry carbon markets & REDD in the long term (5-10  years)?

 The biggest challenge facing carbon markets and REDD markets in particular over the next decade will be the transformation from the voluntary markets to pre-compliance and eventually regulatory markets. Project developers are now investing in REDD projects based primarily on good faith. There are some buyers that have signed up to offtake these credits, also in good faith, of what regulatory markets are going to be. But it will be very challenging to actually make that transition work in terms of carbon accounting, quality standards, demand-supply balance, policy implications, etc.