Did you know that the carbon stored in forestland globally represents 60% of total carbon contained on earth and exceeds the carbon stored in fossil deposits by 40%? It is no wonder then that global interest in forest carbon storage and natural climate solutions has peaked in recent years.

Natural Climate Solutions (NCS) are a set of conservation, restoration, and improved land management actions that increase carbon storage and/or avoid emissions across forests, wetlands, grasslands, and agricultural lands.  Interest in NCS has grown among investors and institutions alike with recently widely cited research, in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Lands Report and from the National Academy of Sciences, pointing towards NCS being critical to meeting the Paris Climate Agreement’s target of keeping global warming below 2°Celsius.

Primary among these actions are activities related to the management of the world’s forests including avoided deforestation (REDD+ projects), improved natural forest management, reforestation, and avoided conversion of wetlands. * Forests are the biggest terrestrial carbon sink we have; At EFM we have been working for over fifteen years to maximize the economic and ecological potential of our forests and natural ecosystems.  We have done this through capital investments, changes to land management strategies, and working to develop new end-markets for products.  Our recently expanded carbon project includes over 25,000 acres of forestland in Oregon which have been verified to Verra’s VCS standard by accredited third party auditors.

Given the urgency to implement climate solutions and the immense potential of NCS to accomplish this, we believe that now, more than ever, is the time to coalesce investment capital around those forestry solutions that truly contribute to climate mitigation efforts and that also support local communities. EFM is proud to continue to develop Natural Climate Solutions that highlight improved forest management strategies and hybrid strategies as well as providing significant co-benefits including habitat provision, water filtration and storage, soil formation, weather mitigation, wild food provision, and other beneficial environmental and social effects.