ART Issues 1.1 Million TREES Credits to Costa Rica

Costa Rica is the first jurisdiction to use the TREES Crediting approach and Removals approach

ARLINGTON, VA, 17 June 2026 – The Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) has issued 1.1 million (1,095,881) TREES Credits to the Government of Costa Rica for its success in restoring and establishing forests within the country from 2017-2019. Under The REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard (TREES), Costa Rica is the first jurisdiction to use the TREES Crediting approach and the Removals approach for reforestation and forest restoration.

The issuance represents a significant milestone for Costa Rica, a country widely recognized as a global leader in reversing deforestation and rebuilding its forest cover. By accounting for results across its 3.1-million-hectare (7.6-million-acre) forest area through the process known as jurisdictional REDD+, Costa Rica has demonstrated forest restoration at a national scale.

These are the first removals credits issued by ART, reflecting the rigor and conservatism that have become hallmarks of ART’s approach to certifying high-integrity results from forest protection and restoration.

“Costa Rica has long been a global model for what is possible when a country commits to protecting and restoring its forests, and we are proud to recognize that leadership with this issuance. With 26 jurisdictions now listed on the ART Registry, we are seeing jurisdictional REDD+ reach the scale that climate action demands. Costa Rica’s success further illuminates the path for other jurisdictions following closely behind,” said Mary Grady, Executive Director of ART.

Costa Rica’s issuance comes amid growing momentum for jurisdictional REDD+. Nearly 25 percent of the world’s tropical forests are now represented in jurisdictional REDD+ programs listed on the ART Registry, an area covering more than 400 million hectares (1 billion acres) of forest, twice the size of Greenland. Eight jurisdictions are currently in verification, with several more undergoing completeness checks for listing.

ART issued the TREES Credits to Costa Rica for its successful reforestation and forest restoration. The independent validation and verification process for the monitoring period was conducted by Aster Global Environmental Services, Inc., an internationally accredited environmental services company, which audited Costa Rica’s REDD+ results for conformance with both the carbon accounting requirements and the rigorous social and environmental safeguards of TREES.

About the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART)

The Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) is a global carbon crediting program that certifies high-integrity emission reductions and removals from protecting and restoring forests at scale. ART operates at a jurisdictional scale to align with Paris Agreement requirements for REDD+ and to help finally decouple economic development from forest loss. As the leading global expert on jurisdictional REDD+, ART is led by a dedicated, independent secretariat that is governed by a Board of globally recognized experts. ART engages with key stakeholders to ensure different perspectives are represented in the design and implementation of its program. To ensure social integrity, ART directly aligns with the UN-defined Cancún Safeguards. As a result of its comprehensive efforts, ART serves as a global quality benchmark for jurisdictional REDD+. This role advances ART’s mission, which is to provide the confidence in the environmental and social integrity of emission reductions and removals from forest protection and restoration to unlock finance at scale for ambitious climate action and to incentivize governments to achieve those results.