COP30: Countries launch alliance to raise more forest finance through J-REDD+

An international coalition to create a stable market for high-integrity jurisdictional forest carbon credits was launched at the UN Climate Change Conference in Belem on Nov. 17.

The Scaling Jurisdictional-REDD+ Coalition aims to reduce deforestation and accelerate financial support for forests at a scale designed to meet global climate goals. This involves developing a carbon credits market with the potential to mobilize investments worth between $3 billion and $6 billion annually by 2030, according to a statement from the coalition.

Jurisdictional carbon credits are supported by the governments of both the project host country and the buyer country, established through bilateral agreements that ensure each carbon credit transferred is counted solely toward one country's emissions reduction target under the UN's Paris Agreement.

"Guyana's experience has shown that when stable finance is in place for high-integrity, jurisdictional REDD+, communities and governments can plan for long-term sustainability," Vickram Bharrat, Minister of Natural Resources for Guyana, said in a statement.

"The Scaling J-REDD+ Coalition will create that stability at scale, delivering credible climate action while supporting forest countries, indigenous peoples, and local communities," he added.

The Scaling J-REDD+ Coalition is a collective initiative involving governments, indigenous peoples and local communities, civil society, and the private sector.

Signatories include tropical forest countries like the Republic of Congo, Costa Rica, Guyana, Ghana, Ethiopia and Kenya; donor nations Singapore, Norway and the UK; indigenous groups like Grupo Indígena Perú and National Toshaos Council. Major carbon market stakeholders like the UN-REDD Programme, Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART), Emergent, Verra and South Pole also joined this initiative, along with civil society organizations like Conservation International and Woodwell Climate Research.

REDD+

REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) encompasses all activities aimed at protecting forests from deforestation. REDD+ projects aim to contribute to the fight against climate change by preserving existing forests in specific areas that are considered at risk of deforestation.

The nature-based offsets and REDD+ market is moving towards a jurisdictional approach now known as JREDD+, with governments increasingly taking ownership of voluntary carbon activity.

The integrity of REDD+ projects has been probed in recent years, with many academics and media questioning their efficacy.

But prices of nature-based carbon offsets are starting to slowly rebound after years of soft demand.

The Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, Nature-Based Avoidance price, which reflects the most competitive internationally fungible carbon credits issued by nature-based projects that avoid GHG emissions, such as REDD+ projects, has been on an upward trend after it fell to a record low of $2.70/metric ton CO2e in February 2024. The Platts Nature Avoidance for Southeast Asia in 2025 was assessed at $11.20/mtCO2e Nov. 18.