Natural climate solutions (NCS) are a type of climate mitigation project characterized by the use of natural systems to sequester carbon, and thus reduce and/or remove CO2 emissions from the atmosphere. Common examples include forestry (e.g. reforestation, avoided deforestation, and afforestation), agriculture (e.g. regenerative ag), or ecosystem (e.g. stream restoration) projects where effects on GHG emissions can clearly be measured and documented.
While NCS projects are generally eligible CTB projects, funding for NCS projects may be categorized as either Value Chain Abatement (VCA) or Beyond Value Chain (BVC), depending on various factors, such as:
Proximity to your value chain (if the project affects your scope 1, 2, or 3 emissions or not)
Funding mechanism (if funded directly or purchased via a market-traded instrument)
Third party verification (for carbon credits, if an acceptable methodology has been used)
The following table outlines the four ways NCS projects may be categorized in a Climate Transition Budget, and the corresponding documentation grade required for certification.
| VCA NCS Project | BVC NCS Project (Directly funded) | BVC carbon credit project | BVC non-conforming project |
Affects your Scope 1, 2, or 3 emissions | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
Market-traded | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
Meets all carbon credit eligibility requirements (3rd party verification, vintage year, etc) | n/a | n/a | ✅ | ❌- up to 15% of your CTB may be allocated to this type of project |
Required documentation grade | Grade C or better | Grade B or better | Grade A | Grade A |