COP30, held in Belém (Brazil) in November 2025, has been widely presented as a pivotal moment for moving Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) from commitments to concrete action. For NBS project developers — particularly those working in reforestation and agroforestry — the conference represented both a window of opportunity and a major challenge.
This article examines what COP30 has concretely delivered for NBS projects, what expectations and risks were associated with the conference, and how to orient future projects to maximise alignment with this evolving landscape. An optimistic, but conditional, outlook.
Place and symbolism
The fact that COP30 took place in the Amazon — in a tropical forest country — fundamentally shifted the focus of the conference. As the Nature-based Solutions Initiative noted, “Belém marks the first COP hosted in a tropical forest country in decades — a symbolic and practical opportunity to place forests at the heart of climate action.”
This context sharply increased the emphasis placed on reforestation, conservation and agroforestry projects in tropical countries.
Operational frameworks and new financing mechanisms
COP30 reaffirmed that governments must move from high-level commitments to operational frameworks for NBS, and introduced several promising financing mechanisms.
However, even with positive momentum, the scale of financial resources available for NBS remains a challenge.
The “Nature at COP30 Advocacy Toolkit,” published by Business for Nature to help public and private actors navigate the NBS agenda at COP30, highlights the need to expand “direct access for local communities and businesses to finance and enterprise services.”
For NBS project developers, this means being prepared to access new forms of funding — often subject to strengthened standards and due-diligence requirements.
Standards, Quality, and Transparency: a central theme of COP30
COP30 explicitly emphasised the strengthening of standards, quality, and transparency for NBS projects. This focus appeared throughout multiple official initiatives and side events.
The COP30 Nature-Based Solutions Working Group highlighted that a top priority is developing harmonised assessment standards tailored to different biomes to enhance project credibility and facilitate integration into carbon markets.
Observers also noted a shift from broad pledges to operational frameworks, with rising requirements related to Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV).
Key COP30 events underscoring this emphasis included:
- ICAT – Transparency & Climate Action Sessions: Workshops focused on improving monitoring, verification, and data quality in nature-climate projects.
- SB-COP30 – Nature-based Solutions Track: Sessions on evaluation standards, MRV practices, and integration of NBS into international carbon mechanisms.
- Nature4Climate Panels: Presentations on the increasing presence of “MRV / operational frameworks” in national climate plans, and discussions on improving transparency.
- Business for Nature – Advocacy Events: Highlighting the need for strong frameworks to avoid greenwashing, strengthen integrity, and enable access to high-quality finance.
In this environment, NBS project developers must anticipate growing expectations for technical rigour, verifiable methodologies, and transparent reporting — essential conditions for fully benefiting from the COP30 momentum.
Local governance and social justice
COP30 placed significant emphasis on the meaningful participation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in the design, implementation, and governance of NBS projects. Preparatory documents from organisations active at COP30 underline that effective nature-based climate action must be locally led, ensure land-tenure rights, and provide a fair distribution of benefits.
This focus reflects a widely shared recognition: nature-climate projects are more effective, more durable, and more socially accepted when co-governed with the communities who live on the land.
Conversely, neglecting these dimensions creates multiple risks:
- social opposition or refusal to collaborate,
- operational blockages linked to land-use conflicts or tenure issues,
- loss of credibility, particularly with investors increasingly attentive to social safeguards,
- reputational risks, in a context where social integrity is now a core pillar of NBS quality.
One of the strongest messages emerging from COP30 is therefore that NBS projects must demonstrate — concretely — that they are rooted in local realities, build on traditional knowledge, strengthen local capacities, and integrate inclusive governance from the outset. This is rapidly becoming a prerequisite for accessing certain types of finance as well as meeting the political and societal expectations surrounding COP30.
Recommendations for aligning your projects with the COP30 context
- Position your project within the COP30 tropical-forest context: Highlight the relevance of your reforestation/agroforestry initiatives in tropical landscapes, and their climate- and nature-positive contributions aligned with COP30 priorities.
- Strengthen quality and governance criteria: Ensure carbon and biodiversity impacts are quantified, auditable, and that local communities are genuine stakeholders — a core expectation in Belém.
- Target innovative financing mechanisms: Monitor COP30-linked announcements (funds, PPPs, blended finance) and prepare your project to meet eligibility requirements.
- Articulate a co-benefits narrative: Go beyond carbon sequestration by showcasing ecosystem services, soil restoration, agroforestry benefits, local jobs, and community income generation — all emphasised during COP30.
- Ensure transparency and traceability: Stay up to date on emerging standards and make your data, indicators, and results readily accessible and verifiable.
Conclusion
COP30 marked a turning point for NBS projects — particularly those in tropical reforestation and agroforestry — by providing heightened visibility, stronger financial prospects, and clearer normative frameworks.
For NBS project developers, this represents a genuine opportunity, but one that depends on rigorous preparation: robust project design, strong local governance, transparent MRV, demonstrable co-benefits, and alignment with evolving frameworks.
The outlook is optimistic — but not without risk. Projects that fail to strengthen their integrity or address social and governance challenges may fall behind the momentum.
In short: a window of opportunity to be seized with seriousness.