REDD+ FAQ

The document defines REDD+ and traces its evolution from a UNFCCC results-based finance mechanism to the use of private standards like the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) for generating tradable carbon credits. It asserts that REDD+ projects, primarily located in the Global South, frequently overestimate their climate impact due to methodological flexibility in baseline setting, leakage, and permanence. The author argues that biological carbon storage cannot fully offset fossil fuel emissions and calls for more stringent, science-aligned standards and alternative financial avenues for forest conservation.

• REDD+ projects in the voluntary carbon market often overestimate their climate impact and fail to protect indigenous peoples and local communities. The Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) is specifically cited as failing to guarantee high-quality credits, which may lead companies to make misleading climate claims.
• Project developers maximize carbon credit issuance by utilizing flexibility in standards to select the most advantageous methodologies. This leads to significant overestimations in counterfactual baselines, with some research indicating that only 1 in 13 credits represents a real emission reduction.
• REDD+ projects typically underestimate 'leakage'—the relocation of deforestation to unprotected areas—and the risk of carbon reversal. Research suggests the risk of reversal from natural phenomena like pests and fires is underestimated by more than a factor of 10.
• The social and environmental 'safeguards' under the VCS are described as opaque and providing limited guidance, which allows for discretionary interpretation by auditors and developers.
• The document argues that it is impossible for unstable carbon sinks like forests to fully offset emissions from geologically stable fossil fuels. It recommends that governments and companies fund forest conservation without using those investments to offset emissions.

APA

Wyburd, I. (2023). REDD+ FAQ. Carbon Market Watch. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2023/11/09/redd-faq/

Chicago

Wyburd, Inigo. REDD+ FAQ. Carbon Market Watch, 2023. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2023/11/09/redd-faq/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Wyburd |first1=Inigo |title=REDD+ FAQ |publisher=Carbon Market Watch |date=9 November 2023 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2023/11/09/redd-faq/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wyburd2023redd, author = {Wyburd, Inigo}, title = {{REDD+ FAQ}}, institution = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2023}, month = nov, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2023/11/09/redd-faq/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }