Natural Climate Solutions

We face unprecedented, intertwined crises: the climate emergency, nature loss and mounting inequality. Natural Climate Solutions provide companies with an opportunity to address climate change while also contributing to nature recovery and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals. However, a scale-up of investment in nature is required if a future where 9+ billion people live well and within planetary boundaries by mid-century is to stay within reach. Crucially, to build and maintain trust in NCS, investments need to be made with integrity, adhering to rigorous standards of quality for both supply and demand.

NCS are a crucial channel for the private sector to direct finance to natural ecosystems. Companies with the highest ambition are delivering internal decarbonization while also investing in NCS as part of their Beyond Value Chain Mitigation. The private sector is embracing these solutions, which are cost-effective, ready to deploy now at scale and provide a myriad of core benefits for nature and people, including increased resilience.  As the momentum for net zero grows and more companies seek to meet climate targets, NCS approaches will receive more and more investment – including via credits and the markets they are traded on.

Unlocking the full potential of NCS needs more ambition and action, both as part of value chain decarbonization and as a source of credits for Beyond Value Chain Mitigation. The companies working together on NCS at WBCSD generate guidance, develop tools and build coalitions focused on key challenges to the scale-up and deployment of high-quality NCS. Throughout this process, we coordinate with relevant initiatives such as the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), the NCS Alliance, the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (IC-VCM) and the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) to build clarity and consistency for the private sector.