The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) brought together leaders, experts, and activists in Belém, Brazil in November 2025, placing forests in the center of discussions on mitigation, adaptation, and sustainable development. Forest-based conservation finance mechanisms such as forest carbon offset markets provide a potential vehicle for organizations, communities, and governments to achieve adaptation, mitigation, and sustainability goals through supporting forest protection and sustainable management. Proponents of carbon offset markets contend that revenue from forest carbon credits can enhance livelihoods and foster economic development in forest-dependent regions. However, as forest carbon offset markets have expanded rapidly, criticism about their efficacy, accessibility, and ethical foundations have intensified. At the same time, demand for science-based, high-quality offsets that align with decarbonization pathways across the private and public sectors remains high on decision-makers’ agenda. Delivering trusted and durable forest-based solutions would benefit from greater integration of emerging technologies, other forest values, and meaningful engagement with local community and Indigenous peoples.

Research on forest carbon offset markets is particularly timely as signatories to the Paris Agreement prepare for the provisions under Article 6, including the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism. Analyses of existing compliance and voluntary carbon markets can offer valuable insights into how countries can build capacity, navigate complex carbon market rules, establish national registries, ensure data integrity, and address challenges associated with regulatory gaps and infrastructure needs. Synthesizing the successes and limitations of existing forest carbon offset markets may elucidate opportunities to improve information exchange, increase transparency, and enhance confidence in forest carbon offsets. Furthermore, tensions persist between the urgency to produce fast, scalable solutions and the need for participatory planning processes that incorporate local and Indigenous communities, which often require time to build trust. The recent emergence of standard-setting bodies, such as the Science Based Target initiative, The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market’s Core Carbon Principles, and the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative, raises questions about coordination, alignment, and consistency across market frameworks. Empirical quantitative and qualitative analyses examining project effectiveness, technological innovations including artificial intelligence, and stakeholder perspectives would provide insights into how to improve current and future markets.

This research topic invites contributions addressing, but not limited to, the following research questions:

1. What options would allow scaling of forest conservation through carbon markets to produce real impacts for society, and what would be their pros and cons?

2. Do recent innovations in carbon markets offer practical solutions for encouraging forest conservation and resilience?

3. What are the attitudes, knowledge, and skills of natural resource professionals to help navigate the expanding forest carbon market space?

4. What roles can emerging technologies and artificial intelligence play in expanding access, transparency, and participation?

5. Which project aspects are associated with forest conservation outcomes and community benefits?

6. How well do current systems for offset pricing reflect quality and co-benefits? What are the impacts/implications for transparency, efficiency, and integrity of systems based on a single price for forest carbon, versus one with differentiated pricing?

7. What are landowners’ perceptions of and experiences with forest carbon offset markets?

8. What is the role of Indigenous Peoples in forest conservation? How have Indigenous communities engaged in forest carbon offset markets?

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Scaling Forest Carbon Offsets: Opportunities, Challenges, and Trade-offs