Ratingbureau Sylvera heeft Tambopata een AA-rating gegeven, de op één na hoogste score op een schaal van 8.  In “The State of Carbon Credits 2023” (1) wordt Tambopata als voorbeeld gebruikt voor alle beoordeelde REDD+ projecten. Tambopata scoort 103% op CO2-effectiviteit en haalt hoge scores op additionaliteit, permanence en bijkomende voordelen als biodiversiteitbehoud en bijdrage aan Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Sylvera heeft tot op heden slechts vier REDD+ projecten een AA-rating gegeven, het hoogst verkrijgbare in de markt. De overige 49 beoordeelde REDD+ projecten zijn merendeels van gemiddelde kwaliteit. Herbebossingsprojecten en projecten die zich richten op verbetering van bosbeheer scoren gemiddeld lager dan REDD+ projecten en projecten gericht op technische oplossingen zitten daar nog weer onder. Dit komt ook tot uiting komt in de prijs. Terwijl de prijzen voor alle projecttypen dit jaar zijn gedaald tot het niveau waar ze in 2021 waren, hebben REDD+ projecten en andere nature based projecten hun premium behouden.

Een voordeel van de slechte markt van dit moment is dat het kopers de mogelijkheid biedt om carbon credits van hoge kwaliteit te vinden en te kopen. Deze situatie kan snel veranderen zodra meer bedrijven hun netto-nuldoelstellingen daadwerkelijk proberen te realiseren.

1) https://www.sylvera.com/resources/the-state-of-carbon-credits-report

A group of researchers, led by Jesús Aguirre-Gutiérrez from the University of Oxford, has found that the actualimpact of planting trees is quite disappointing: biodiversity declines while carbon storage remains limited.

Planting trees to offset CO2 emissions has become a trend, particularly in the tropics where large monoculturetree plantations are established because trees grow faster there, sequestering carbon more quickly. The concept seems logical: trees remove carbon from the atmosphere, so if we plant enough of them, we can naturallymitigate climate change.

However, carbon sequestration tree plantations are usually monocultures dominated globally by just five tree species: teak, mahogany, cedar, silk oak, and acacia. Economically, this makes sense, but biodiversity in thoseforests is often lacking. Sometimes, infertile old forest soil is used, but more often, trees are planted in areas thatwere never forests but healthy biodiverse grasslands.

Moreover, an even more critical point made by the researchers is that even with significant efforts, the carbon storage capacity of such tree plantations is limited. “The current trend of planting trees for carbon storage leads to extensive homogenization for a small carbon gain,” state the researchers. “An area as large as the US, the UK, China, and Russia combined would need to be forested to sequester one year’s worth of emissions.” This is completely unfeasible. “In conclusion, prioritizing the preservation of the original ecosystem and maximizing itsfunctions should take precedence over the economic focus on carbon storage projects,” they emphasize.

Sources:

Valuing the functionality of tropical ecosystems beyond carbon: Trends in Ecology & Evolution (cell.com)

According to new data primary forest loss in 2022 totalled 4.1 million hectares, equivalent to the surface of the Netherlands.

Despite global commitments and pledges, this represents an increase of 10% compared to 2021. The cumulative forest loss resulted in a total carbon dioxide emission of 2.7 gigatonnes (Gt), which is more than half of Europe’s total emissions in 2019.

While primary forest loss remained high in Brazil and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it rapidly increased in countries like Ghana and Bolivia. Meanwhile, Indonesia and Malaysia managed to maintain rates of primary forest loss at near record-low levels.

RBI recently advised Dutch MPs on the potential of achieving part of the climate goals of the Netherlands through global collaboration. The current post-2030 climate policy documents discussed in Parliament lack this aspect, with the exception of a letter to Parliament dated March 17, 2023, in which the Dutch Government announces that it shifts its focus from ‘climate neutrality in the Netherlands’ to ‘climate neutrality for the Netherlands’ in 2050’. This allows emissions offsetting within the EU.

While supporting this direction, RBI has advocated for extending compensation possibilities to outside the EU. This should involve tropical forest preservation and restoration under the UN’s REDD+ framework and the Paris Agreement’s Article 6. This approach offers cost-effective climate mitigation, as well as biodiversity conservation and sustainable growth in pivotal regions around the globe.

RBI’s new Memorandum of Understanding for 2023 and subsequent years has been signed by its members.

The MoU outlines the objectives of the REDD+ Business Initiative, as well as its rules of engagement. Additionally, the MoU announces the establishment the RBI Foundation as the executive branch of the REDD+ Business Initiative.

The RBI Foundation was legally established on January 25 of this year and has obtained the ANBI status from the Dutch Tax Office (Belastingdienst). ANBIs are entitled to certain tax advantages related to inheritance, gifts and donations. As part of the application for an ANBI status, a multi-year work plan has been drawn up and placed on this website.