Verra certifies first government-led jurisdictional REDD+ programme in Argentina
Verra has approved its first-ever government-led forest carbon programme at a provincial scale, registering the Province of Misiones in northeastern Argentina under its Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Jurisdictional and Nested REDD+ (JNR) Framework — a development the organisation and observers say creates a replicable model for subnational governments seeking to access international climate finance through carbon markets.
The programme, announced on 2 June 2026, covers approximately 1.5 to 3 million hectares of native Atlantic Forest, one of Argentina’s most ecologically significant remaining forest ecosystems and a global biodiversity hotspot. Over its first crediting period, spanning 2017 to 2022, the programme generated approximately 13.1 million tonnes of verified carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO₂e) emissions reductions — a substantial volume that is now available to international buyers seeking high-integrity, government-backed forest carbon credits.
Unlike traditional project-level REDD+ credits, which apply to discrete parcels of land managed by individual project developers, jurisdictional REDD+ programmes credit verified emissions reductions across an entire administrative region. The Misiones programme operates under Scenario 2 of Verra’s JNR Framework, which permits a provincial government to generate credits for forest areas not covered by any individual carbon project. Under this model, any project operating within the jurisdiction must nest within the government-led programme and align with its approved baselines, strengthening the overall accounting framework and reducing the risk of overlapping or duplicated claims.
Verra said the certification reflects years of coordination across provincial institutions, technical teams, market participants, and an independent validation and verification body. The registration marks the first time globally that a subnational government has achieved certification through this jurisdictional pathway under a major voluntary carbon market standard.
Adolfo Safran, Minister of Finance, Treasury, Public Works and Public Services for the Province of Misiones, said the provincial government had long made rainforest protection a state policy, and that the benefit distribution mechanism established under the programme would allow the conservation effort to generate returns for local communities. The province invited qualified international investors to engage with the programme and purchase the resulting credits.
Verra CEO Mandy Rambharos said the programme demonstrated what was achievable when governments led on climate action, creating the institutions, policies, and partnerships needed to both protect forest assets and bring the climate results to market. Rambharos described the outcome as a practical example of public policy and carbon markets working in complementary alignment.
The approval is expected to accelerate the development of similar programmes across Argentina and in other forest-rich nations across Latin America, Africa, and Asia that are exploring jurisdictional approaches to carbon finance. With project-level forest carbon credits facing continued scrutiny over issues including baseline calculations, additionality, and benefit-sharing, the provincial model in Misiones has been positioned as a governance improvement that gives buyers greater confidence in the integrity of the underlying emissions reductions.
Investment firm Silvania, which has been working alongside the Government of Misiones to support market access, previously noted that the programme had received an A-AA independent quality rating — among the highest available assessments in the voluntary carbon market — prior to formal registration.
