Research Overview: Nature-Based Credit Markets at a Crossroads

CMS is committed to supporting and promoting science-based carbon management initiatives and we view scientific credibility as essential to achieving global climate goals. A recent paper ‘Nature-Based Credit Markets at a Crossroads’ published in Nature Sustainability (2024), provides a noteworthy perspective on scientific validity in relation to nature-based credit markets.[1]  Authors Tom Swinfield, Siddarth Shrikanth, Joseph W. Bull, Anil Madhavapeddy, and Sophus O. S. E. zu Ermgassen argue that current ‘dubious accounting methodologies’ are yielding limited environmental gains and undermining investor confidence.

This research plays an important part in reshaping carbon markets to reflect the true social value of conservation. It presents a confronting statistic - that scientifically credible methodologies may produce 4 to 100 times fewer credits than current systems. This highlights that the actual impact of many ‘conservation’ projects is debatable.

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