Climate change: US-based nature group seeks to restore Asia-Pacific mangroves, grassland to make a return for investors
- The Nature Conservancy is studying environmental initiatives in Asia-Pacific, with the aim of turning them into projects investors can get behind
- They include a a mangroves restoration initiative in Australia and a collaboration in China to foster nature-based carbon storage projects
“There are over 20 shortlisted nature-based projects [globally] to be supported by philanthropic money raised by TNC, in which certain successful ones we expect investors will be able to participate [for returns],” he said in an interview.
In Mongolia, TNC is exploring a project with shepherds to reduce herd sizes to sustainable levels, partner with local government to limit the movement of new herders, and sell carbon credits to supplement the reduced income resulting from sustainable grazing.
In Australia, the group is doing a feasibility study into converting 1,500 hectares of privately-owned agricultural and pastural land on coastal flood plains that had been drained back to their original state as mangroves.
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In China, it is collaborating with a national think tank linked to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment on policies to incentivise nature-based climate mitigation projects that can generate credits tradeable in the country’s carbon market.
Arnold is a former head of impact finance and sustainable finance at JPMorgan Chase.
TNC, with 5,000 staff in 70 nations, raises philanthropic funds to develop nature conservation projects.
About 18 months ago it created a new division to develop so-called “impact investing” projects that could include participation by return-seeking investors.
Such projects, spanning everything from sustainable farming and aquaculture to water management, reforestation and eco-tourism, aim to deliver a positive sustainability impact.
Such solutions can provide 37 per cent of the carbon emissions mitigation needed through 2030, for a roughly two-thirds chance of containing global warming within two degrees Celsius, according to TNC’s scientists.
However, generating robust carbon credits from nature-related projects can be challenging, since it involves complex scientific measurement of greenhouse gases captured and stored, Arnold said.
“You are measuring greenhouse gas sequestered, but the science [varies] around different species, habitats, nature of threats, growth rates, climates and soil fertility,” he said. “There is a lot more variability in the nature side of this market than say a wind [power] project.”
They cast doubt on the accuracy of the carbon mitigation benefits claimed by such projects which generate carbon credits used by companies to offset their carbon footprints, highlighting the need for integrity in the voluntary carbon market.
TNC is helping to shore up confidence in the market by teaming up with nature-based carbon offset projects advisory firm TerraCarbon to study existing impact measurement methodologies and develop a new one for deforestation prevention projects.
It involves creating a “dynamic” comparison baseline that is adjusted periodically incorporating the latest science, climate change and land use change, to address criticism that the baseline of some existing methodologies is static, Arnold said.
“This market has to have integrity,” he said. “We are doing everything we can as a non-government organisation to try to bring integrity back to the market.”
Advances in technology are also helping. Satellite imagery and visual, thermal and acoustic remote sensors have improved the efficiency and accuracy of measuring biodiversity and plant growth, and hence the rate of carbon dioxide absorption and sequestration, he added.
