REDD+ Market : Sending Out an SOS

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Summary

The future of a mechanism for REDD+ is currently under threat. Early actions on REDD+ at the site level to reduce emissions from deforestation have not been met by similar progress at the international level in generating demand for forest carbon credits. The result is a near-term oversupply of verified emission reductions from REDD+ projects that has the potential to expand over the coming five years to over 20 times the current market demand. Such a market imbalance will depress prices for REDD+ credits, cutting off finance to projects that have not only succeeded in reducing deforestation but are also delivering multiple social and environmental benefits. A lack of finance to reward these successes would send a strong and worrying signal to all countries embarking on efforts to reduce deforestation and improve the provision of environmental services - their successes may not be greeted with further support but rather indifference and uncertainty. Such a signal would provide limited motivation to press ahead with the politically challenging.