A new nature-based voluntary carbon market certifier has released its standard and reforestation methodology, it announced Wednesday.
Paris-headquartered Ecosystem Restoration Standard (ERS) was founded in Dec. 2020 and has raised a total of €7.5 million since, while operating five pilot projects in Panama, Costa Rica, and Madagascar.
ERS said the development of the terrestrial forest methodology was the culmination of three-years of R&D, pilot projects, and extensive consultation.
According to the methodology documents on ERS’ website, it applies no restrictions regarding project size, however the project must be situated in inland forest landscapes between latitudes of 51.6° N and 51.6° S.
This is due to limitations with the models used for allometric above-ground biomass quantification of woody biomass, it said.
Projects must be designed to restore previously degraded terrestrial forests and their ecosystem services according to the function, structure, and composition of a reference ecosystem.
They must also increase available habitat capacity and maximise landscape connectivity to benefit biodiversity at both local and landscape level, as well as foster sustainable livelihoods, the documents said.
ERS requires that at least 70% of climate financing goes to local communities and embeds the digital measurement, reporting, and verification tools to make certification possible for inland forest and mangrove restoration as small as 50 hectares.
Future methodologies would cover other ecosystem categories.
“Just 3% of credits on the carbon markets come from reforestation projects, with a dominance of non-native commercial plantations. Our standard is built to catalyse native ecosystem restoration on a global scale,” ERS CEO Thibault Sorret said.
Governance documents published with the standard include an anti-fraud policy, a code of ethics and business conduct, and details of its technical advisory board.
The method aligns with leading standards and guidelines including CORSIA, ICVCM, and the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA), according to the company.
ERS said some 500 participants responded to a public consultation held earlier this year, after which it pivoted to focus more on ecosystem and habitat-focused approaches based on respondent feedback.
In July, the company announced it would operate on Xpansiv’s SaaS-based registry infrastructure.
ERS said Wednesday it would seek to apply to ICROA by the end of the year, and ICVCM and CORSIA in early 2024.
Earlier this month ICROA said it would toughen up its criteria for certifiers looking for its endorsement, saying there were at least 15 standard bodies waiting to be approved.
ICROA’s updated endorsement will require applicants to provide more details on demonstrating good governance, further evidence of procedures to avoid conflicts of interest, and requirements for projects to undergo a risk assessment for potential environment and social impacts.
