Family Forest Blog

July 28, 2023
Carbon + Biodiversity – A New Opportunity for the Market
Forest carbon has increasingly become a vital piece of the climate mitigation puzzle and one vital co-benefit of forest carbon projects is biodiversity.

July 27, 2023
ANALYSIS: ICVCM’s Core Carbon Principles for the VCM
AFF’s Manager of Environmental Markets Calvin Tran breaks down the ICVCM's Category-level Assessment Framework as part of their Core Carbon Principles.

July 7, 2023
The VCMI Claims Code and What It Means for Family Forests
Late last month, the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) launched their Claims Code of Practice, which aims to heighten integrity of the carbon credits sold on the voluntary carbon market. The Claims Code provides companies with a rulebook on how and when to utilize carbon credits and the claims they can make following their use.

June 5, 2023
FEATURE: Keep on Moving – Dynamic Baselines Seen Driving Accuracy in Forest Carbon Accounting
In the context of accusations of widespread over-crediting in the voluntary carbon market (VCM), one emergent accounting approach could tackle some of the challenges with auditing of forestry projects, offering real-time and dynamic monitoring of climate impact via remote sensing technologies.

April 28, 2023
Carbon Markets 101
When we say we are selling “carbon," we’re not speaking literally. We don’t come to your property and extract a tonne of carbon, the element, put it in a box and ship it to a corporation. What we’re really selling is a claim — specifically, the claim that a tonne of carbon dioxide has been kept out of the atmosphere as a result of a specific action — in this case, a carbon program.

April 18, 2023
Defining High Integrity
“What is a high-quality carbon credit? What makes a carbon credit ‘real’ as opposed to ‘hot air?’” And, perhaps most importantly, “Why does this issue of high-quality matter to me?” So let’s dive into this topic and try to clarify what quality is and why it’s important.

March 30, 2023
We Must Activate All Climate Solutions Now
Last week, the world passed a new jarring threshold. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) announced on March 20 that the world is on track to miss our goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius within the next 10 years.

March 10, 2023
VIDEO: Our Carbon Accounting Methodology Explained
Learn more about the Family Forest Carbon Program's carbon accounting methodology that improves accuracy and transparency — and ensures our program is having a real impact.

February 21, 2023
Unlocking Private Financing for Small Landowners in Maryland
Senior Policy Manager James McKitrick recently spoke with experts at the Environmental Policy Innovation Center about AFF's innovative use of a State Revolving Fund loan guarantee to finance climate action.

February 9, 2023
The Carbon Markets Are Calling For Higher Quality Carbon Credits: America’s Family Forests Are Answering
President and CEO Rita Hite writes about the American Forest Foundation's new strategic direction and goal of working with family forest owners from all walks of life to capture and store one billion tonnes of carbon by 2050.

February 9, 2023
American Forest Foundation’s New Strategic Direction Answers Calls for Higher Quality Carbon Credits
The American Forest Foundation announces its new strategic direction that will focus on unlocking the power of family forests as a climate solution while helping thousands of rural landowners care for their land and improve forest health.

November 7, 2022
COP27: Advocating for America’s Family Forest Owners
AFF is attending COP27 to advocate for the substantial opportunity that new policies and commitments offer to the voluntary carbon market, nature-based solutions and American family forest owners.

October 27, 2022
New Approach to Forest Carbon Accounting Aims to Enhance Accuracy & Transparency
A first-of-its-kind carbon accounting methodology for Improved Forest Management (IFM), designed to provide more measurable proof of climate impact and to solve access challenges for small forest landowners, has officially been approved for use in the United States and around the world.

October 27, 2022
Advancing Integrity with the New Improved Forest Management Methodology
The American Forest Foundation, The Nature Conservancy and TerraCarbon have pioneered a new approach for calculating a carbon benefit that increases accuracy and transparency.

October 18, 2022
First-Ever Family Forest Carbon Program Partner Retreat Tackles Carbon Market Opportunity for Family Forests
The American Forest Foundation was excited to host the first-ever Family Forest Carbon Program Partner Retreat last week, bringing together climate leaders across sectors and industries.