Dubai, Dec. 3, 2023 – The Wildlife Conservation Society applauds Ghana, Costa Rica and LEAF Coalition members for signing landmark agreements for high-integrity jurisdictional REDD+ carbon credits.

As the first forest governments to reach Emissions Reductions Purchase Agreements (ERPAs) for the sale of high-integrity jurisdictional REDD+ emissions reductions and removals credits to major corporate buyers in the LEAF Coalition, Ghana and Costa Rica will receive over $60m for national efforts to support sustainable development; benefit rural and Indigenous communities; protect nature; and further support government efforts to reduce deforestation.

Urgent action is needed to incentivize the protection of the world’s remaining forests. Jurisdictional-scale carbon credits, generated by countries and subnational jurisdictions, validated and verified using credible third-party standards—like ART-TREES required by these agreements—and traded in global carbon markets, can deliver much-needed finance for forest protection, restoration, and carbon emission reductions.

Said Joe Walston, Executive Vice President for Global Conservation:

“These landmark agreements for Ghana and Costa Rica represent decades of efforts by both countries to build national programs for reducing deforestation and restoring forests in ways that benefit communities, including through economic growth and job creation. These agreements send a positive signal for the rapid scaling up and finance of high integrity jurisdictional REDD+ crediting to help meet the global goal of halting and reversing deforestation by 2030.”

###