How The Climate Trust Identifies Star Carbon Projects

The Climate Trust analyzes dozens of potential projects each year in grasslands, reforestation, and improved forest management carbon sectors. Beyond satisfying the basic eligibility criteria and financial analyses required for each project type, we look for a unified set of features during our due diligence process as indicators of project impact. 

Carbon additionality: The project represents a meaningful change in land management, and/or locks in carbon management as a primary management goal where stocks are demonstrably threatened. Keeping forests as forests and grasslands as grasslands is a key climate solution. 

Co-benefits: The project achieves multiple aims beyond carbon sequestration and storage including environmental and social goals. Carbon projects financially support rural and underserved groups, facilitating land retention, and can be designed to build technical capacity by engaging local workers. The Climate Trust is committed to involving tribes, rural, and other under-resourced communities in strategies and actions for climate solutions. 

Effective partnership: Each carbon project represents a decades-long partnership between individuals and organizations. The Climate Trust typically bears all the up-front carbon development costs and holds much of the contracting risk in our agreements with project partners. Stewarding a carbon project through the full project term requires dedication, teamwork, trust, and communication as we work with landowners to creatively plan and document sustainable land management, mitigate natural hazards, and keep good records for verification. An effective working partnership is essential.  When these three features align, a ‘star’ carbon project is born and climate progress is realized.

Do you have a nascent star carbon project in mind? Please get in touch!