Global climate project proponents are riding a wave of demand for nature-based solutions that remove carbon from the atmosphere as corporations continue to deploy strategies to meet their net-zero goals.

United Nations environmental experts said that 10 gigatons of atmospheric carbon must be removed each year by 2050 to meet Paris Agreement objectives. In response, voluntary carbon market investments have escalated for a variety of nature-based projects such as wetlands restoration and tree planting.

Financers and project developers demand granular price transparency into specific project types and vintages to help scale the market to the required level to limit the rise in global temperatures.

To support nature-based carbon removals project development and voluntary carbon market growth, OPIS launched an expansion to its Global Carbon Offsets Report with price assessments for afforestation/reforestation credits and Blue Carbon credits as well as more co-benefits standards.

The new Afforestation/Reforestation Credits (OPIS ARR) assessments reflect carbon credits for the afforestation, reforestation, or revegetation of lands, while the Blue Carbon Credits (OPIS Blue) prices reflect carbon credits issued for carbon sequestration in ocean and coastal ecosystems.

“The expansion of the OPIS voluntary carbon market assessments to include nature-based carbon removals credits addresses industry demand for more project-specific pricing in the forestry sector,” said Lisa Street, Head of Climate & Carbon Markets, OPIS. “Continuing to explore opportunities to provide price transparency and valuable insights into these emerging markets will help climate action leaders make informed decisions on their environmental and sustainability goals.”

In addition, to provide transparency into the price premium for high-quality carbon credits, OPIS also launched Climate Community & Biodiversity Standards Gold (OPIS CCB Gold) and Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (OPIS SD VISta) assessments.

The OPIS CCB Gold and SD VISta reflect the co-benefits price premium for Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) that are labeled by Verra’s CCB and SD VISta Program. Verra’s CCB and SD VISta certifications represent a climate project’s excellence in achieving environmental and sustainable development goals.

The new price assessments are published to the OPIS Global Carbon Offsets Report, which launched in December 2020 to meet the demand for benchmark pricing for voluntary carbon markets. The OPIS Global Carbon Offsets Report and the daily OPIS Carbon Market Report provide the largest compliance and voluntary carbon market price suite by any price reporting agency in the world. OPIS’s robust and comprehensive coverage of the carbon markets enables global project developers, traders, marketers and investors to accurately identify a fair value for their assets and understand compliance costs associated with carbon and emissions programs.

Learn more about OPIS Global Carbon Offset Report.