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Forestry projects were some of the first activities designed to mitigate GHG emissions and generate offsets. In many ways, these pioneering projects helped define the concept of ‘carbon offsets’ and tree planting is still considered by many as the most ‘classical’ type of offset project. In 1989, prior to the Kyoto Protocol, US power company AES initiated the first corporate forest carbon offset project. This project supported community woodlots in Guatemala and aimed at reducing deforestation pressures. That and other similar projects helped set the stage for the development of forest carbon offset projects as we know them today.

The carbon markets around voluntary offsetting have grown significantly since 2006. Much of this growth has been driven by the corporate sector in the US and Europe, with companies increasingly seeking to reduce their GHG emissions as part of their broader corporate social responsibility and environmental programmes. As a result, worldwide, voluntary carbon markets amounted to 123.4 million tonnes in 2008 and land-based carbon offsets represented 18% of this volume.

This report is a follow-up to The Forest Carbon Offsetting Survey 2009 conducted last year. Following the success of the 2009 version, we decided to conduct another survey this year to further understand the motivations of early buyers of forest carbon offsets and how their views may have changed over the past year, particularly during this time of evolving policy and market conditions. Our hope is that this information will help to further align the interests of all forest carbon stakeholders and stimulate the supply of high quality forest carbon credits that will satisfy market demand.

Access the full report from the Ecosecurities website here (PDF).