Image from Scolel'te, Mexico. Photo: ZeroMission

We are experiencing high pressure on carbon offset projects with trees as the main carbon sink. The pressure is so high that many of the projects we work with, such as Trees for Global Benefit in Uganda, CommuniTree in Nicaragua and Scolel'te in Mexico, have to recruit new farmers to meet the demand for credits. This is a pleasant problem, because in practice it means that more farmers will have an increased income, with positive effects for them and their families, and of course that more CO2 will be sequestered in the soil. For us as a credit retailer, good foresight and long-term planning help us and the projects to meet demand.

Without the funding, expansion of the projects would never be possible, demonstrating additionality at its best. The climate benefit is thus closely linked to the companies and organizations that choose to offset to reduce their emissions. It's like someone pushing a red button and saying "Go!" to make the climate benefit happen.

Forests are an important, and relatively easily accessible, carbon sink that plays an important role in the fight against climate change. Scientists say there is enough space in the world's forests to plant trees with the capacity to store a decade's worth of emissions, writes Björn Wiman in DN.

ZeroMission works with two different types of tree projects. It is about preserving forests threatened by deforestation, or replanting new trees in collaboration with smallholder farmers. This is done using a method called 'agroforestry', which simply means that trees and crops are planted together to mimic natural conditions. In this way, plants benefit from each other, carbon sequestration increases and biodiversity is enhanced. Win-win in many ways.

Here you can see how the tree planting process works in CommuniTree, Nicaragua.