Aftermath of the Forest Carbon Credit Crisis as Experienced by Restoration and Conservation Organisations

ABSTRACT In 2023, The Guardian reported on several scientific studies denouncing the role of certain forest carbon credits in mitigating climate change. Subsequently, credit prices on the voluntary carbon market (VCM) plummeted—providing a quantitative indication of its impact. Here, we provide qualitative evidence through 23 interviews with actors on the front line of forest carbon crediting. We elicit their observations, experiences, and reactions in the aftermath of this media attention, triangulated with market data and corporate responses. We find growing hesitancy amongst buyers towards credits, demand for greater due diligence, and shifting preferences for credits from restoration rather than conservation—partly driven by Big Tech companies. Industry actors shifted to different registries, created new certification standards, and/or shifted from REDD+ to Jurisdictional REDD+. This implies that the media attention opened a window of opportunity to improve forest carbon market practices and governance, and contributed to shifting biodiversity finance patterns.