General
Ecobase is a carbon developer founded in 2021 and is based in Estonia, with the mission to restore native ecosystems and help improve climate resilience.
One carbon credit represents either the removal or the reduction of one metric tonne of CO2 from the atmosphere. In other words, one carbon credit is proof that there is one fewer tonne of CO2 warming the planet. Their generation and sale enable positive environmental outcomes. They are issued by an official standard.
There are two types of mitigating actions, producing Avoidance Credits and Removal Credits.
Avoidance credits are generated by projects that use carbon finance to prevent CO2 emissions which would have happened otherwise.
Removal credits are generated by projects that use carbon finance to remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
The way this mitigation is achieved is also split into two genres: Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) and Technology-Based Solutions.
NBS involve the protection, restoration, or management of ecosystems, using the services provided by nature to mitigate environmental issues. Examples include afforestation, reforestation and revegetation (ARR), improved forest management (IFM), forest protection, wetland restoration, regenerative farming and green infrastructure.
Technology-based Solutions involve the development and use of technology to reduce environmental impact or repair damage. Examples include renewable energy, carbon capture and storage and the development of batteries and electric vehicles.
NBS is the largest category of carbon credit available in the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) by volume of credits issued. The three main types of NBS projects in order of volume are Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), Improved Forest Management (IFM) and afforestation (ARR).
Asia-Pacific has the largest amount of carbon projects with over 68% of credits issued, followed by South America with 13%, Africa with 12% and North America with 6%. Europe currently accounts for only 1% of total credits issued.
Carbon buyers are usually large companies committed to climate actions, who have set CO2 goals, such as becoming carbon neutral (retiring enough credits to match emissions) or net zero (only using removal credits to match emissions). They first measure and reduce their emissions, and then look to offset the remaining carbon emissions.
Activities that increase carbon stocks in woody biomass (and in some cases soils) by establishing, increasing, and/or restoring vegetative cover through planting, sowing, and/or the human-assisted natural regeneration of woody vegetation
Our main offering is the afforestation project, but we have started working on an improved forest management project (IFM) and are in the early stages with it right now. Improved forest management comprises activities that increase carbon stock through changes in existing forest management practices. These forest management practices can include activities such as increasing the average age of the forest by extending rotation lengths, and converting logged forests to protected forests
Client Portal
The client portal is Ecobase’s proprietary one stop solution for landowners to manage their land/credit portfolio, as well as access tools and information related to submitting lands to the project. The portal provides an overview of landowners’ lands, as well as carbon credits and carbon income estimates:
- Overview of total lands sent to the Ecobase projects
- Detailed breakdown by project instance (credits earned, projections, timeline and status)
- Map and table views for better overview
- Credit estimates are continuously revised based on feedback received from the landowners (e.g. revised planting dates, new species mix, etc) to optimise accuracy
The client portal is a free tool provided specifically to landowners
1. Create a free user account here to access basic functionality of the portal such as lands submission and afforestation carbon calculator to estimate carbon income.
- Once a user is created, lands can be submitted to Ecobase for eligibility checks via the portal
- Ecobase runs the eligibility checks on submitted lands and, if successful, eligibility of lands/project area is confirmed
2. Landowner requests an account in the portal, which eligible lands will be associated to
- Once all account related forms are submitted via the client portal, the Ecobase team will send the contract for the account. Upon signing, the account is active and the contract will be accessible in the ‘Contracts’ section on the client portal. Landowner has full access to client portal
Ecobase’s proprietary tool to estimate credits and income on potential afforestation lands based on various inputs such as location, species and former land use. The carbon calculator is located in the client portal
Ecobase European Afforestation Project
The Ecobase Europe Afforestation Project generates removal carbon credits using nature-based solutions (NBS) certified by Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) using the afforestation methodology CDM AR ACM0003 methodology V.2.0 (which has been in use for over 10 years). These credits, known as Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) are tradeable through the VCM. It is available to view on the Verra registry here.
Carbon credits are calculated using a Verra approved methodology, which assesses CO2 removals and CO2 emissions from a project. This involves a comprehensive evaluation of various factors. The most significant factors include: (a) removals from the growth of biological entities such as plants and trees (above and below ground), (b) removals from the accumulation of Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) where eligible and (c) emissions from the preparation and planting processes, including clearing of shrubs.
Double counting refers to claiming the same removal twice in tradeable markets (double issuance, double use or double claiming). As per Verra’s and other international carbon standard organizations’ definition, double claiming does not include “nested claims” where the same carbon reduction or removal is claimed by a business and the jurisdiction within which the carbon reduction or removal takes place. A voluntary carbon credit issuance does not need the country where the activity to take place to exclude this carbon removal from it’s national carbon accounting. This way, private finance through the voluntary markets can stimulate more removals to contribute to countries’ carbon removal targets.
Yes, the methodology has clear tests to ensure that the credits are additional. We have conducted extensive research across Europe to identify barriers to planting, where common practice inhibits afforestation, and investment analysis where relevant.
Planting that does not satisfy the additionality criteria will be ineligible for the Project.
Yes, absolutely. Restoring and enhancing biodiversity is a key part of what we do. We plant trees to grow resilient and diverse forests, this enhances biodiversity and over time encourages the growth of other flora and fauna.
Yes, you can find the latest recording here.
Please use this link.
Payments
We work hard to get the best prices for your project and requirements. The European, NBS, removal credits generated by the Project are in high demand and we work to achieve the best prices possible you. There are also multiple methods of sale to fund planting which impacts prices, depending on your requirements.
Please contact us to discuss your specific planting plans and requirements.
The number of credits earnt by you will depend on the biological growth of the species and the management. Some illustrative examples are given below:
Example Total credits/ha Oak, managed for conservation 801 Birch, 40 year rotation 277 Norway spruce, 60 year rotation 226
For more detailed information on how many credits can be earned on your lands, please create a free user account here and put your lands through our afforestation carbon calculator
This depends on the forest management.
If the management is for forest conservation, credits will continue to be issued based on tree growth (and where relevant soil carbon) over the project period of 100 years.
If the management is continuous cover forestry, the available number of credits is capped, based on a long-term average of carbon sinks over the project period of 100 years.
If the management is rotation forestry, the available number of credits is capped, based on a long-term average of carbon sinks over the rotations until the end of the project period.
There are two situations:
If the land where the project activities take place is considered degraded or is in agricultural use, the first credits can be issued in the first year after planting from the soil organic carbon pool.
If the land is not degraded or is in use pastureland, the first credits are issued after the first biomass monitoring. The first biomass monitoring takes place when the trees planted are at least 1.3m tall which depending on the species can take 2-5 years.
Once biomass monitoring has started when the trees are at least 1.3m tall, we will aim to repeat it every year so that new credits can be issued every year and turned into credit income.
No, you decide how you want them to be treated. We will bring carbon buyer offers to you. You can also use the credits for your own sustainability goals if you want to.
Measuring And Monitoring
Monitoring is conducted by us based on fixed permanent sample plot forest inventory system. Each country, planting year and species will be separately monitored, known as a monitoring stratum. The number of sample plots required per stratum is based on a calculation stipulated in the methodology. These plot locations will be randomly selected from within each monitoring stratum. 12.5m x 20m rectangles are marked at each sample plot and every tree within this area will have its species, height and DBH measured and recorded. We cover all the monitoring costs.
Monitoring results will be submitted in a verification report which Ecobase submits to Verra. The verification report provides the quantity of credits that are to be generated, based on biomass increases since the last verification. The Validation and Verification Bodies (VVBs) then visit a selection of the sample plots to check that the measurements were correct and the correct procedures for monitoring were followed. Verra finally reviews the verification submission, resulting in the issuance of credits approximately 6 months after the verification report was submitted.
Eligibility
- Whether any pre-existing biomass was removed before planting;
- What specie(s) were planted including the number of seedlings per hectare —in case of several species, also their relative proportions;
- What other subsidy schemes or income, if any, the planting area was submitted to;
- When the planting was carried out;
- What the land use was prior to afforestation;
- What the method of land preparation was;
- Confirmation that afforestation/reforestation was not a legal requirement;
- In cases of planting after a natural calamity, proof of the calamity’s occurrence;
Other specific questions may also be relevant on some potential project areas. We will go through your submitted land to highlight whether any additional information over and beyond the above questions is necessary. Also, some information we ask for in certain countries only.
You can provide either one file for each area you would like to submit or a combined file encompassing all the areas you would like to submit.
If you have a spatial file of the areas you would like to submit to us, please send us this file (the extension of the spatial file may be SHP, KML, KMZ, or similar). Files can be submitted via the Ecobase client portal. Set up a free user account today
If you do not have a spatial file of the areas, but know their cadastral identifier(s), please submit this identifier (these identifiers).
It is important for us to be able to locate your potential project area spatially to check this against possible restrictions that may apply to it with regards to its eligibility for our carbon project.
In addition to knowing where your project area is located, we also need to know about the following:
Any tree species may be planted if it is not classified as invasive in the region.
Yes, you are welcome to send lands before planting to determine their suitability before planting. In this case, please also make note that the lands have not been planted yet, and we may also be able to offer advice as to how to plant the lands such that the planting activities disturb as little of the existing soils as possible.
If planting has already occurred, lands can be added if planting took place after September 2019, and you can provide evidence that carbon financing was required for the planting to go ahead.
Wetlands are ineligible for afforestation.
Peatlands are ineligible for afforestation where these overlap with wetlands. However, dry peatlands may be eligible for afforestation. Land preparation methods may only disturb the soils in a very limited way for this to be possible (to limit the release of carbon from the peatland during planting).
Please contact us with the specific peatland in question and we will confirm whether it is eligible in part or in full based on the above criteria.
The minimum planting area is 0.1 ha and there is no maximum size for a potential project area.
Yes, you can still receive other income streams, but we ask that you report that to us. This is to conduct investment analysis for additionality, if required.
We use a combination of remote sensing derived public datasets, satellite and aerial imagery and an internal database to assess:
- Official land use or cover
- Presence of wetlands
- Pre-project biomass and planting
Natura 2000 network lands may be eligible for planting presuming that the land has received its afforestation permit which confirms that the afforestation does not breach the Natura 2000 conditions.
Please contact us to discuss what suitable information can be provided.
If you have this file at hand, please share with us the exact planting design which would highlight all areas that have a similar planting characteristic (planting method, planting time, and species composition). If you do not have such a file, please provide us with the overall information about the species that were planted on the total area.
Yes, this is fine. We might ask you for help in understanding it.
Yes, you can. However, please make a note of this as we can only consider areas that were planted as part of the Project. In this case, please highlight the exact planting area in an accompanying image or PDF.
For areas where planting has taken place partially, we need to subdivide these such that all separate planting sequences (in this case the sequences from two years ago and from the future) are separately identifiable. This needs to happen to have an accurate accounting of sequestered carbon.
The easiest way is if you can subdivide these areas already in your submission. If this is not possible, please contact us and we will see what the most efficient way to solve this problem is.
There is no need to re-project your file before sending it to us. Please send your file to us in the coordinate system you normally use for your activities.
This will be noted in the Verra registry.
Contract
Our standard contract, which is used by all landowners regardless of size or location, is available here.
You must organise and cover the costs for the planting and subsequent forest management. If you need pre-financing to cover the costs for the planting, please let us know. Although pre-financing for afforestation/reforestation activities is a nascent market, we can help you find these financing opportunities.
You must confirm each year that you still own the land.
If you can prove valid and uncontested ownership of or long-term control (via a concession or rental agreement) of the lands, you may join. The long-term control needs to be 40 years or longer. In case of shorter contracts, you need to have the ability to extend the contract and there should be historic precedent that the contract has been previously extended.
We cover all carbon-related project costs: project writing, project administration, Verra registration, validation, verification and Verra registry costs, monitoring work (remote sensing and forest inventory).
We also find credit buyers and negotiate transactions on your behalf based on a pre-agreed pricing framework.
There are no upfront cash fees for you to participate in the Project, these are all borne by us, as described under our responsibilities. Given the scale of the project, our fee for these services is only 10% of the credits generated, with you receiving 90%. We are aligned in bringing you the best possible outcome as we earn carbon income only when you earn carbon income. These are the lowest fees we are aware of for comparable projects.
You may manage your forestland to produce sustainable timber, however, short rotations where timber for bioenergy is the main objective are ineligible.
You may exit the Project at any time. There is no penalty unless there is a land use change (deforestation) during the Project Period, in which case either the credits generated must be reimbursed, or the income received from the sale of credits must be repaid.
For conservation or continuous cover forestry, the Project Period is 100 years. For rotation forestry, the minimum Project Period is the greater of:
- 40 years
- The completion of the rotation active in year 40, plus one year.
There are no restrictions on what can occur at the end of the Project. We'd of course hope and presume that due to Forest law and economic reasons you would keep using it as forestland forever.
There will not be a liability on you, however no more credits will be generated until the lost biomass has grown back.
No, you will not lose credits if another landowner in the Project suffers a natural calamity. The scale of the Project allows for losses to be absorbed. In practice, this means that if there is such an event, there will be a short-term reduction in credits issued, which will be replenished as the affected lands regrow. Ultimately no credits are deducted from the other landowners and your maximum number of credits is not affected.
This is also the mechanism prevents the risk of paying back credits if the calamity is on your land.
Yes, you may submit further lands as you like. We will require the same data as set out in the requirements in the eligibility section for each submission.
Yes, land can be sold, and it is beneficial to transfer the carbon credit contract to the new landowner. If however the new landowner chooses not to participate in the Project, that means that the land will be excluded from the Project.
Yes, this could be achieved by one party being awarded power of attorney, or having all parties sign up to the Project.
We only ask for the necessary data for your participation in the Project and store it in a secure environment.
Please contact us through our online contact form to access and rectify your data or use your opposition and retraction right.
Your data is not exchanged or sold.
Registry & Regulation
Verra is a non-profit organisation that manages, develops and maintains standards and the Verra Registry for environmental and social initiatives. They provide a framework for the certification of these projects, ensuring they meet certain criteria and achieve real, measurable, and additional impacts.
VCS is the largest global standard for the certification of voluntary emission reduction projects, managed by Verra. Projects that meet the VCS criteria are issued carbon credits upon verification, known as Verified Carbon Units (VCUs), which can then be sold on the voluntary carbon market.
Certification provides the guarantee that emissions avoidance or removals are real, measurable, additional and permanent, by adhering to strict processes and procedures that are set by a certifying standard and further audited by accredited certifying bodies. For companies buying carbon credits to offset emissions, only certified credits can account for their unavoidable or hard-to-abate emissions.
The EU CRCF, or EU Carbon Removal Certification Framework, is an initiative by the European Union to establish a standardised system for certifying carbon removal technologies and methods. It will be designed to ensure that carbon removal contributes effectively to reducing atmospheric CO2 and aligns with the EU's climate change mitigation goals.
We are following the EU CRCF development closely and will aim to work towards the best outcome for our clients, which might involve transitioning into this new framework.
We expect it to be operational at the earliest in 2027. The best way for any carbon activity done before that time to qualify to the EU system is to participate in an existing carbon project like our Ecobase Europe Afforestation Project.
Ecobase European IFM Project
The Ecobase IFM project generates removal carbon credits using nature-based solutions (NBS) certified by Verra's Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) using the IFM methodologies VM0003 Methodology for Improved Forest Management through Extension of Rotation Age, v1.3; VM0012 Improved Forest Management in Temperate and Boreal Forests v1.2; VM0010 Methodology for Improved Forest Management: Conversion from Logged to Protected Forest, v1.3. These credits, known as Verified Carbon Units (VCUs) are tradable through the VCM
We are still in the very early stages of designing the project and as such have not registered the project with Verra yet.
Similarly to afforestation, if you have a spatial file of the areas you would like to submit to us, please submit via the client portal (the extension of the spatial file may be SHP, KML, KMZ, or similar). If you do not have a spatial file of the areas, but know their cadastral identifier(s), please submit this identifier (these identifiers). In addition, we would need documentation detailing your forest management plant, including rotation length and harvesting as well as forest inventory data.
