– The world faces converging environmental crises that are inextricably linked and compounding: the accelerating destruction of nature and climate change. Natural climate solutions (NCS) offer an opportunity to address both and generate significant additional environmental, social and economic benefits.

– Private-sector commitment to action is gaining momentum, with many companies setting the goal of reaching net-zero emissions and some also making commitments on nature. As a result, NCS are gaining attention and carbon markets are growing fast. Corporate strategies that aim to use NCS to help deliver a net-zero pathway are on the verge of becoming mainstream.

– NCS are fundamental to delivering a net-zero pathway alongside rapid decarbonization, by enabling avoidance/reduction of emissions, and removal/sequestration of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

– Reaching a 1.5° or 2°C pathway by 2030 will require about a 50% net-emission reduction of annual emissions to around 23 gigatons of carbon dioxide (Gt CO2) from 2019 levels.

– We estimate a practical potential of close to 7Gt CO2 per year from NCS projects, sufficient to deliver around one-third of that target and to achieve carbon removal in the near term and at lower cost than technological solutions. The bulk of this total comprises four types of NCS: avoided deforestation and peatland impact, peatland restoration, reforestation and cover crops.

– NCS are typically low-cost sources of carbon abatement. In most cases, costs are between $10 and $40 per ton of CO2 with variations between geographies and project types.

– Beyond helping to address the changing climate, NCS can also deliver significant co-benefits to nature and humanity, and can generate private capital flows to countries that offer the highest potential for NCS projects, typically forest-rich countries in the Global South.

– However, NCS are being held back from fulfilling their potential at scale by various conceptual and technical hurdles, starting with a lack of consensus on how to treat corporate carbon reduction claims and on the role that NCS can play. Agreement is needed on standards and certification under one commonly accepted international standards body. Continuing public concerns about the validity of NCS credits should be addressed through highlighting and sharing best practices.

– To overcome years of oversupply of carbon credits and low prices, a demand signal is needed to build confidence and unlock the supply pipeline of potential NCS projects.

– Market architecture, infrastructure and financing need to be developed to support the growth of NCS producing tradable credits, as set out in the recent report of the Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets (TSVCM).

– Finally, it is vital to build coherent and agreed policy frameworks at either the national or international level for the growth of NCS in line with climate goals, covering such issues as carbon standards, rules on accounting at the jurisdictional or project level, and connecting voluntary and compliance markets.

– This demands a concerted effort to build trust and a broad consensus on the value of NCS to address the lack of confidence in the integrity of NCS credits, the markets, and the institutions that govern them. On the one hand, there is a need to increase public awareness, while on the other, it is critical to create multistakeholder communities of trust to air and address conceptual differences.