Natural Climate Solutions Alliance COP30 Policy Demands
- This article provides an evergreen resource on the role of nature-based solutions and carbon markets in achieving the goals of the Paris agreement, with a focus on recommendations...
- Nature-based solutions - actions to protect, restore, and sustainably manage ecosystems - are increasingly recognized as vital for addressing climate change. These solutions offer a dual benefit: mitigating...
- However, realizing the full potential of nbs requires considerable financial investment.
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Nature-Based Solutions and Carbon Markets: Recommendations for COP30
Table of Contents
Updated as of November 5, 2025, 13:54:13 PST. This article provides an evergreen resource on the role of nature-based solutions and carbon markets in achieving the goals of the Paris agreement, with a focus on recommendations for COP30.
The Urgency of Nature-Based Solutions
Nature-based solutions – actions to protect, restore, and sustainably manage ecosystems - are increasingly recognized as vital for addressing climate change. These solutions offer a dual benefit: mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing adaptation to climate impacts. According to the United Nations Surroundings Program (UNEP), NbS could provide over one-third of the emissions reductions needed to meet the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target.
However, realizing the full potential of nbs requires considerable financial investment. current funding levels are significantly below what is needed, creating a critical gap that must be addressed to achieve global climate goals. The NCS Alliance, a coalition focused on scaling natural climate solutions, highlights this funding gap as a major obstacle.
Unlock Finance for Nature-Based Solutions Through Carbon Markets
The NCS Alliance has presented three key recommendations to the Parties of the Paris Agreement, focusing on unlocking finance for nature-based solutions through carbon markets. These recommendations aim to mobilize private capital and complement existing public funding mechanisms.
- Support Enabling Policy Conditions: Countries need to develop policies that attract and scale private investment in natural climate solutions. This aligns with the Paris Agreement’s recognition of the complementary role of private finance in achieving Nationally Persistent Contributions (NDCs). This includes clear land tenure rights, streamlined permitting processes, and robust monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems.
- Prioritize High-Integrity Carbon Markets: Central to this approach are high-integrity carbon markets – markets built on transparency, robust accounting, and verified climate, biodiversity, and social outcomes. High-integrity markets ensure that credits represent real, additional, and permanent emissions reductions or removals.Carbon markets uniquely mobilize large-scale private capital aligned with measurable climate goals and complement grants or public funds. The International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) emphasizes the importance of market integrity for driving effective climate action.
Ensure Equity and Inclusion in Carbon Markets for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities
Recognizing the critical role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) in stewarding forests and other ecosystems, the NCS Alliance stresses the importance of equitable benefit-sharing in carbon market initiatives.IPLCs often possess conventional knowledge and practices that are essential for successful NbS projects.
The recommendations include:
- Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC): Ensure that IPLCs provide FPIC before any NbS project is implemented on their lands.
- Equitable Benefit-sharing Mechanisms: develop mechanisms that ensure IPLCs recieve a fair share of the financial benefits generated from carbon credits.