White House statement highlights role of ART-TREES standard in groundbreaking deal to protect Amazon rainforest
A statement issued by the White House during President Joe Biden’s recent trip to Brazil cites new initiatives aimed at combating climate change and protecting forests, including in the Amazon, and highlights the importance of the ART-TREES standard in the future verification of high-integrity forest carbon credits sought by the Brazilian state of Pará.
Winrock International plays a key role in the ART-TREES standard by serving as the Secretariat for Architecture for REDD+ Transactions, or ART. The ART Secretariat is responsible for operation of the ART program including the development of The REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard (TREES), and oversees the registration, verification and issuance of TREES emissions reductions on a transparent registry.
Biden became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the Amazon, and his administration took the opportunity to announce “new efforts to accelerate global action to conserve lands and waters, protect biodiversity, and tackle the climate crisis,” including leveraging demand for high-integrity forest carbon credits through the Lowering Emissions through Advancing Forest (LEAF) finance Coalition. The coalition of private sector and government buyers recently announced a $180 million agreement on high-integrity forest carbon credits with Pará, which contains about 25% of the Brazilian Amazon.
The Nov. 17, 2024, release issued by the White House states:
“Revenues from the transaction of credits generated at the scale of the entire state, at the pathbreaking price of $15/tonne of avoided emissions, will support the conservation of the Amazon Rainforest. The agreement is LEAF’s first deal in the Amazon. Next steps include full consultations with stakeholders, program validation and verification of results under the ART-TREES standard. Agreements with additional Amazon region states are expected in the coming months, starting with Acre, with significant demand-side interest for high-integrity credits from Brazilian states.”
ART is a global initiative that seeks to incentivize governments to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD), as well as restore forests and protect intact forests.
ART’s mission is to serve as a global quality benchmark for jurisdictional REDD+, providing the confidence needed in the integrity of emission reductions and removals from forest protection and restoration to unlock finance at scale for ambitious climate action and to incentivize governments to achieve those results.
To read the full White House fact sheet, please click here.
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