Carbon Development Journey

The voluntary carbon market (VCM) is a rapidly evolving ecosystem that channels private finance toward activities that remove or reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Within this system, nature-based projects such as reforestation, avoided deforestation, and improved forest management play a vital role. Each project generates verified carbon credits, representing measurable climate benefits that can be purchased by companies and investors to meet decarbonization goals.

Developing a credible carbon project is a multi-year process that moves through several key stages: project development, project implementaiton, and monitoring.

At each stage, different tools and datasets are needed. Early planning relies on landscape-scale data and eligibility models; certification depends on project-specific data inputs; and ongoing monitoring requires consistent, high-quality measurements of biomass, land cover, and permanence risks.

A robust data management system—linking these stages together—enables adaptive management. Ultimately, strong project design is the foundation of credible climate impact. It determines not just how many credits a project can generate, but also its long-term ecological health, community benefits and engagement, and investor confidence.

The following documentation describes the technical methods and analytical foundations that power Earthshot’s suite of tools, each built to enhance transparency, scientific rigor, and efficiency across the carbon development journey.