Momentum for Jurisdictional REDD+
Nearly 25 percent of the world’s tropical forests are now represented in jurisdictional REDD+ programs listed on the ART Registry, an area covering more than 1 billion acres (400 million hectares) and twice the size of Greenland. Since the first programs were listed in late 2020, ART has grown in both reach and impact. In 2025, newly listed programs in Bhutan and Bolivia brought the total number of jurisdictions to 26, advancing ART’s mission to unlock finance at scale for ambitious climate action to protect and restore forests.
On the standards front, the ART Secretariat received 75 percent more public comments on the draft of TREES 3.0 last year, compared to TREES 2.0 in 2021. In addition, we received more than 350 comments on the draft Beyond Carbon Benefits certification. This growth in public comments about our standards is an indicator of the increased interest in ART and jurisdictional REDD+ more broadly, and a testament to the stakeholder engagement work of the ART team (photo galleries for general stakeholder engagement here and at COP30 specifically here).
Late last year, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) approved ART – along with sister organization ACR – to be among the first four independent crediting programs to supply carbon credits for the Second Phase of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), covering the period 2027–2029. All three of ART’s crediting approaches under its TREES standard remain eligible. This decision provides long-term certainty that ART-issued TREES Credits that meet ICAO’s requirements for avoiding double counting can be sold into the CORSIA market through 2031.
Looking ahead, 2026 will be a big year for ART. Five (5) jurisdictions are currently in verification, with several more undergoing completeness checks for listing. We will publish TREES 3.0, reflecting the input of stakeholders and the lessons learned through implementation of the current version of the standard. We will also launch an optional new certification – Beyond Carbon Benefits – to consistently and transparently report on a wide range of positive social and environmental impacts, bringing additional value to TREES Credits.
2026 is also the 30th anniversary of the founding of Environmental Resources Trust (ERT), ART’s organizational home. And behind the scenes, ERT is working with Intercontinental Exchange to launch a next-generation registry platform for ART and our sister crediting program ACR. We will be providing more information about both of these activities in the months ahead.
Overall, I remain optimistic about the year ahead. Mostly I am grateful for the community of partners and team of experts ART has assembled, all working to protect and restore forests at scale. While the world faces many challenges, action is an antidote. So, we are focused on the tasks at hand to continue supporting ambitious climate results. Thank you for all that you do.
Sincerely,
Mary Grady, Executive Director
ART NEWS
ICAO Council Extends Approval of ART to Supply Credits for Second Phase of CORSIA
November 2025
At its October 2025 meeting, the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) approved ART to supply carbon credits for the Second Phase of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), covering 2027–2029. The decision confirms that all three of ART’s TREES crediting approaches, previously approved for CORSIA’s First Phase, remain eligible for use in the Second Phase.
ART Helps Launch Scaling J-REDD+ Coalition
November 2025
ART helped launch the Scaling J-REDD+ Coalition at COP30 in Belém, Brazil. As a founding member, ART is supporting this coalition of countries, Indigenous Peoples, investors, standard setters, and civil society to scale high-integrity jurisdictional REDD+ (J-REDD+) and enable the mobilization of $3–6 billion per year by 2030 to help halt and reverse tropical deforestation.
ART Team Grows
The ART Secretariat continues to expand in response to growing global demand for high-integrity jurisdictional REDD+. The team now includes 12 dedicated professionals, strengthening ART’s capacity to engage with partners, support outreach across regions, and deliver on its mission to certify large-scale forest emissions reductions and removals with the highest environmental and social integrity.
ART Co-Hosts Debut of “Silent Friend”
November 2025
ART and ACR co-hosted a COP30 cultural side event in Belém: the world debut of Silent Friend, an award-winning arthouse film by Hungarian director Ildikó Enyedi. Told from the perspective of an ancient ginkgo tree, the film explores humanity’s relationship with nature in a way that resonates with ART’s mission to protect and restore forests. Silent Friend is expected in theaters in 2026.
Participant Updates
There are 26 national and subnational jurisdictions engaged with ART across Africa, Asia, and North and South America—together representing nearly 25% of the world’s tropical forests.
Learn more about these transformative programs on the ART Registry>>>
Credit Issuance – In February 2026, ART issued 9,085,923 TREES Credits to the Government of Guyana for the year 2023. These credits have met the requirements in TREES to be labelled as CORSIA-Eligible on the ART Registry.
Validation and Verification – 5 jurisdictions are currently in validation and verification (Costa Rica, Ghana, Guyana, Tocantins and Vietnam) with one more beginning later in March.
FCPF Credit Reissuance – FCPF credits were reissued on the ART Registry for Costa Rica and Côte d’Ivoire.
Indigenous JREDD+ in Peru
In a landmark collaboration, Grupo Perú and the Ministry of Environment of Perú (MINAM) are partnering to develop the world’s first Indigenous Jurisdictional REDD+ Program under the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART). This groundbreaking initiative reinforces the importance of Indigenous governance and traditional knowledge in forest protection and serves as a global model for how governments and communities can work together to drive meaningful climate action.
ART developed a video about the initiative, including interviews with leaders from Grupo Perú (ANECAP, AIDESEP and CONAP) and MINAM. The video is available in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese.
JREDD+ and TFFF
ART published a short article that outlines how Jurisdictional REDD+ (JREDD+) and the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF) are complementary finance streams to conserve and restore global forests.
Forest Finance Roadmap
The Forest & Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP), the Government of Brazil, and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) released the Forest Finance Roadmap for Action, which identifies six priority actions (including JREDD+) to close the estimated $66.8 billion annual funding gap for forests in tropical countries and accelerate progress toward the 2030 forest goals.
State of Finance for Forests
UNEP published its inaugural State of Finance for Forests (SFF) report — Unlock. Unleash. — that finds that global investment in forests must triple by 2030 to meet climate, biodiversity, and land restoration goals.
NCS Alliance Guest Post
ART prepared an explainer for the NCS Alliance that explains some of the differences between jurisdictional REDD+ and project-based REDD+.
ENGAGEMENT & OUTREACH
Coordination Workshop for the Development of Jurisdictional Indigenous REDD+ — February 2026
ART joined a coordination workshop organized by Grupo Peru de Pueblos Indígenas and MINAM to present key TREES requirements and support progress toward an innovative Indigenous-led jurisdictional REDD+ program in Peru. Full post>>>
ART Asia Tour – January 2026
ART met with government counterparts and partners across Bhutan, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Singapore to strengthen collaboration on jurisdictional REDD+ and high-integrity forest carbon finance, including discussions on ART requirements, Carbon Fund progress, and the enabling conditions needed to deliver results for forests, communities, and climate. Full post>>>
ART Team at COP30 — November 2025
ART met with governments, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), civil society, and private-sector partners in Belém to advance jurisdictional REDD+ discussions and hosted a two-part official side event highlighting IPLC leadership and partnerships in high-integrity climate action. Photo gallery>>>
Peru Regional Workshop on Forest Monitoring for Climate Finance and Indigenous Governance — October 2025
ART participated in a regional workshop convened by Grupo Peru de Pueblos Indígenas and MINAM (with FAO and UN-REDD support), delivering training on jurisdictional REDD+ and TREES and sharing updates on the Beyond Carbon Benefits Certification developed with ART’s IPLC Advisory Group. Full post>>>
ART–COIAB Webinar: Mutual Knowledge Sharing Partnerships — October 2025
ART and COIAB hosted a webinar on Indigenous-led, two-way capacity building, highlighting joint workshops with Amazon Indigenous leaders and COIAB’s ongoing roles in ART expert committees, including Beyond Carbon Benefits and TREES review through the IPLC Advisory Group. Watch the recording>>>
Climate Week NYC — September 2025
During Climate Week in New York City, ART engaged with partners across finance and policy conversations and saw continued momentum for practical, high-integrity market pathways—especially jurisdictional REDD+—that can deliver both scale and integrity. Full post>>>
Yale Forest Forum — September 2025
ART’s Christina Magerkurth joined the Yale School of the Environment to discuss the growing momentum for jurisdictional REDD+, including how it differs from project-level REDD+ and the methodological foundations for setting jurisdictional baselines. Watch the recording>>>
