Resource information
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) is a conservation finance instrument based on the payments for ecosystem services model, wherein governments, private landowners, concession holders, and/or communities are compensated for undertaking activities which mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from forest use and land use change. This article reviews the numerous sources for REDD+ finance within the context of total global conservation finance. In 2013, there were approximately 47 REDD+ projects conserving nearly 20 million ha with a total transacted value in carbon offset credits estimated to be US$98.8 million. Scaling up conservation financing instruments, particularly REDD+, is critical to halting tropical deforestation and reversing the trend of global climate change. Although the bulk of REDD+ financing, especially for capacity building efforts, comes from public sector channels, this article discusses five opportunities for private sector firms to support REDD+: a firm can develop their own project; a firm can donate unrestricted funds to a nonprofit organization; a firm can invest in a for-profit firm; a firm can choose to support a particular REDD+ project; or a firm can invest into a dedicated fund.
