How does CarbonABLE screen which rewilding projects to fund?
To have real impact you have to have high project screening standards. We’ve got that locked down, here’s how.
How CarbonABLE Chooses Projects
Not every nature regeneration project that produces carbon credits is created equal. At CarbonABLE, we take project screening very seriously for two reasons:
- We want to make a real difference in fighting climate change. Therefore, we want to select projects that will have the most impact.
- Our NFT holders expect a tangible, recurring resale value. So, our projects need to represent high-quality voluntary carbon credits (VCCs) with minimal risk and a high potential for success.
Before we link a carbon credit project with a CarbonABLE NFT release, there are many steps of project screening we consider with our partners.
Project Due Diligence
What makes a good decarbonization project? Well, first of all, we choose project developers who have passed a thorough background check. This means reviewing their impact and financial reports and checking their references to make sure they have a solid track record and meet the highest quality standards through internationally recognized certifications.
We also consider the quality of the project and its fringe benefits. What might those be? Each project must actively support at least 3 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We particularly seek out projects where the SDGs represented also have a positive outcome for local communities or biodiversity. This might mean a project that only employs local women, or is exclusively managed by an Indigenous community. Or it might mean choosing to fund a project that also will serve as a wildlife sanctuary for indicator species at risk of extinction.
Valid Carbon Credits Only!
Before funding a project, it’s important to check the risk of additionality. We need to know how much carbon would be absorbed by the area without the regeneration project: this is called “baseline data”. From there, it’s time to estimate potential carbon capture over the lifetime of the project. This lets us know how many carbon credits (“VCCs”) that the project can release.
Durability is also a point of analysis: we consider how likely the project is to reach term (for example 30 years). Natural disasters, socio-economic change, and geopolitical stability are factors we consider when assessing the durability of a project.
Two other points we consider are the possibility for leakage, which means that although the project may protect one particular forest the deforestation is simply moved elsewhere, like to another forest that is not protected. Finally, we must avoid double-counting, which is where the carbon credit is claimed as an offset by multiple actors, for example, the project developer and the credit issuer. This is cheating: a credit is sold or redeemed twice but in reality, only one metric ton of carbon was removed from the atmosphere.
Minimizing Risks, Maximizing Reward
CarbonABLE does not collect the data on these projects ourselves but analyses the due diligence reports prepared by our expert partners. One of these partners is Wildsense, which not only prepares the project screening reports but also provides satellite and modeling monitoring for the life of the project.
The full due diligence reports are available to our holders. But we also produce a skimmable version that covers the basics without requiring you to read 30 pages of detailed notes. This is how CarbonABLE chooses projects with huge potential and low risks. Once we’ve confirmed a project, we agree to purchase and reserve all the carbon credits for the life of the project at a frozen rate. This means, that as the project goes on, the resale value grows higher and higher.
By regenerating the climate and creating an NFT series that produces a real resale value, we know we’re doing right by the planet and our NFT holders. It’s a win-win!
