Ecological integrity of avoided deforestation projects (opens in new tab)

Reducing deforestation is proposed as a global climate action, yet it remains unclear whether carbon projects based on such interventions also maintain forests’ ecological conditions. Here we evaluate 133 projects against matched controls using five ecological-integrity indicators, to show that most projects have mixed, negligible or negative impacts relative to control areas. Results highlight fundamental shortcomings of these climate solutions that limit their ability to safeguard healthy e...