Climate change poses an urgent global challenge, and carbon markets are a potent tool for addressing it. Regardless of where an emission takes place, every tonne of carbon reduced, removed, or avoided makes a meaningful contribution to the overall decrease in greenhouse gas emissions.
Today, as we reflect on our planet's precious resources, we'd like to share the impactful work ClearBlue Markets' Nature-based Solutions (NbS) team is doing in Colombia. This nation leads the world in carbon credit supply, but the story goes far beyond carbon. It's about preserving biodiversity, empowering local communities, and forging a sustainable future. Learn about our recent projects in the heart of Colombia's Orinoquia region, where we're witnessing firsthand the vital link between climate action and nature conservation.
Colombia has been leading the total supply of carbon credits in 2024, accounting for over 26% (24 MtCO2e) of all (88 MtCO2e) of all NBS issuances last year worldwide, significantly more than the runners-up (USA, 16%, Brazil, 10% Guyana & Mexico, 8%). This leadership position is not new, as since the inception of the market, the top three NBS credit supplier countries are now Colombia (154 Mt), Brazil (102 Mt), and Peru (90 Mt).
Regarding these Colombian projects, a significant amount corresponds to NBS removals, such as afforestation (ARR, A/R) projects. ClearBlue Markets has had the honor to participate in several of these projects in different ways, whether in Due Diligence, Baseline Assessment, Project Development or technical assistance. A particular hub of Afforestation projects is the eastern plains region of Colombia, known as the Orinoquia, and within it, projects in the Department of Vichada (100K km², larger than Hungary), are particularly active.
It is well established that biodiversity loss and climate change are correlated and mutually reinforcing. A thriving nature keeps carbon stored where it naturally belongs and not in our planet's atmosphere. Biodiversity enhances adaptive capacity and resilience, including disaster risk reduction. Climate change, on the other hand, is one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss.
Nature markets, defined as those that explicitly value and trade nature, include carbon markets, nature liability insurance, conservation markets, nature-related tourism, commodities, and the recently emerging biodiversity credit markets. Current guidelines on nature-related disclosures, such as those established by the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and the Science-Based Targets for Nature (SBTN), have helped companies integrate nature into decision-making.
Lately, ClearBlue participated in the baseline for a biodiversity credit based on the aOCP – ases-On-Chain Protocol in Vichada. As part of this work, ClearBlue’s NbS team managed to record over 40K observations on trees, minor plants, birds, reptiles and mammals with our proprietary field data collecting applications developed with the Fulcrum platform during 10 days of fieldwork.
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The cryptic Yellow-olive flatbill (Tolmomyias sulphurascens) in caribbean pine plantations; center, Orinoco deer (Odocoileus cariacou) camouflaged in the lush native understory developing on plantations. Right, a gigantic congrio (Leptolobium nitens) hardwood, probably over a century old, now very rare.
A few weeks after that assignment, we also participated in the assessment of lands for forestry in another part of Vichada, aiming to apply our Close-to-Nature Forestry approach, in which over 1000 vegetation sampling points of savanna grasslands and woodlands were collected. An exploration of the evolution of landcover spanning 60 decades (1965-2025), including a statistical spatial correlation analysis (using both MODIS active fire and burned area and WWLLN - the World Wide Lightning Location Network data) analyzing fire caused by lightning and fires caused by humans in the region was also conducted.
It was determined that woodland cover has been steadily advanced and that an overwhelming portion of fires in the Orinoquia are purposefully caused by people in the dry season, as natural fires caused by lightning strikes happen in the late rainy season, being also much less intense (due to the accompanying rain) than dry-season wildland fires.
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This detailed fieldwork and analysis demonstrates ClearBlue Markets' dedication to providing robust, data-driven solutions for nature-based projects. By leveraging our specialized expertise in biodiversity assessment, forestry, and spatial analysis, we empower our clients to develop impactful and sustainable initiatives in Colombia and beyond.
Our Project Development team is committed to driving positive change through innovative Nature-based Solutions. We believe environmental integrity and business prosperity are mutually reinforcing. Through close collaboration with our clients, we strive to achieve their goals while advancing towards a low-carbon economy, leaving a lasting positive impact for future generations.
On this Earth Day, we are reminded of the urgency and importance of our work. We are proud to contribute to Colombia's leadership in this critical space and look forward to continuing our collaborative efforts to protect our planet's invaluable biodiversity. To learn more about our expertise and how we can support your nature-based initiatives, please contact us.