• New six-principle framework offers data-backed guidance to align carbon removal and biodiversity outcomes in voluntary carbon market (VCM) projects.
• Analysis of 1,639 global VCM projects reveals biodiversity integration remains inconsistent, calling for more credible measurement, reporting, and verification.
• The framework aims to standardize dual-outcome project design, helping investors scale nature finance and enhance transparency in a fragmented market.
New Framework for Nature-Positive Carbon Projects
Carbon Direct and JPMorgan Chase have released a joint whitepaper aimed at reshaping how biodiversity is integrated into nature-based projects within the voluntary carbon market (VCM). The report, Optimizing for Biodiversity with Nature-Based Projects in the Voluntary Carbon Market: Principles for Pursuing Dual Outcomes, provides a scientific and data-driven framework to help buyers, developers, and financiers align carbon and biodiversity goals under one cohesive strategy.
The publication arrives as global demand for “nature-positive” carbon credits accelerates, yet methodologies for measuring biodiversity outcomes remain uneven. While nature-based carbon removal projects—from forest conservation to soil restoration—are critical to global decarbonization goals, many lack standardized approaches for reporting biodiversity gains. Carbon Direct and JPMorgan Chase’s framework seeks to fill this gap by offering practical guidance on how organizations can pursue dual outcomes credibly and transparently.
“Investing in nature-based solutions demands both scientific rigor and local relevance,” said Dr. Sarah Federman, Vice President of Landscape Decarbonization at Carbon Direct. “Working with JPMorgan Chase allowed us to deliver a framework grounded in data, designed to help market actors select projects that credibly advance biodiversity and climate outcomes.”
Six Core Principles for Dual Outcomes
The report distills findings from an analysis of 1,639 global VCM projects and identifies six core principles to guide biodiversity integration. These principles focus on aligning project design with credible reporting commitments, adaptive management, and localized ecological objectives.
Among the report’s key recommendations:
• Local context matters: Biodiversity benefits are inherently local and non-fungible, requiring project design and reporting frameworks tailored to specific ecosystems and community contexts.
• Outcome-based reporting: Projects should define biodiversity objectives clearly—such as habitat restored or species protected—and embed these in monitoring and verification frameworks aligned with scientific best practices.
• Adaptive management: Biodiversity-focused projects often evolve as ecological and environmental conditions change. Investors are encouraged to support adaptive approaches while maintaining accountability through well-defined guardrails.
• Aligned time horizons: Carbon and biodiversity outcomes mature at different rates. Credible reporting should reflect these temporal differences rather than compressing them into carbon crediting cycles.
By applying these principles, project developers can build more resilient interventions, while buyers can make investment decisions with improved confidence in biodiversity integrity and long-term impact.
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Insights from JPMorgan Chase
“As demand for VCM projects that incorporate nature-positive outcomes continues to grow, we were thrilled to work with Carbon Direct to establish a set of principles that help market participants assess how to pursue both outcomes,” said Gwen Yu, Head of Emerging Sustainability Issues at JPMorgan Chase. “Through this work, we hope to contribute to ongoing dialogue within the VCM to scale financing for both climate and nature.”
The collaboration reflects the growing alignment between corporate finance and ecosystem restoration, as large institutions move beyond carbon offsets to consider broader ecological co-benefits. JPMorgan Chase, one of the world’s largest financial institutions, has been expanding its sustainable finance portfolio to include investments that link climate mitigation with biodiversity conservation.
Science-Driven Methodology
The report’s methodology is rooted in a comprehensive analysis of global project registries, monitoring and verification standards, and evolving policy frameworks. Projects were assessed across multiple criteria, including ecosystem connectivity, fragmentation risk, and species appropriateness under management. The resulting dataset provides a granular view of current VCM project readiness to deliver biodiversity benefits alongside carbon removal.
By integrating conservation science and carbon accounting, Carbon Direct and JPMorgan Chase aim to move the market toward verifiable, nature-positive investment models. The approach aligns with emerging international frameworks such as the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and supports investors seeking measurable, multi-dimensional environmental returns.
Implications for the Market
The framework is expected to serve as a reference point for both corporate buyers and project developers navigating the next phase of voluntary carbon markets—where integrity, transparency, and biodiversity co-benefits are increasingly non-negotiable. It also provides investors with a clearer roadmap for structuring portfolios that meet both decarbonization and nature restoration objectives.
As governments, corporations, and financial institutions converge around net-zero and nature-positive goals, tools that merge carbon and biodiversity accounting will be essential to mobilize credible climate finance. The Carbon Direct–JPMorgan Chase collaboration advances this integration, providing a scientifically grounded template for scaling high-integrity nature-based projects that benefit both the planet and the economy.
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