Planting trees… or sequestering carbon?

This question is not merely rhetorical. At the end of 2025, Portugal approved the first project methodology under the national voluntary carbon market framework—focused on reforestation. A new market is thus emerging, where forests are no longer seen solely as landscape or a timber resource, but also as a climate asset with measurable value.

This is not, however, an invitation to indiscriminate planting. On the contrary, it is not only about planting more, but also about planting better—and proving it with technical rigour.

The approved methodology establishes strict criteria: it is necessary to demonstrate that the project generates additional carbon sequestration compared to the baseline scenario, ensure the permanence of that carbon over time, and guarantee continuous and verifiable monitoring. It is not enough to plant; it must be proven.

It is also important to bear in mind that this is a first methodology—others will follow in the forestry sector, defined by law as a priority sector for launching the voluntary carbon market. The objective is for the Portuguese forest, so often associated with risk and abandonment, to be seen as an opportunity. But this transformation is neither automatic nor guaranteed.

This first methodology effectively serves as a benchmark for those that will follow, and this logic of progressive development is positive, as it allows the system to be tested, adjusted, and consolidated before broader expansion.

What will now be critical for the functioning of the market is effective access for project developers, including small forest owners. There are several challenges in this regard: notably the scale of projects, but also access to initial funding to launch carbon credit generation projects, often required before credits are issued. The mechanism allowing the sale of future credits may help kick-start projects, but its effectiveness will need to be tested in practice.

Transparency and market trust are, naturally, fundamental to attracting credit buyers, making it essential to ensure alignment across public policies and avoid overlaps or inconsistencies. Various policy areas and instruments are therefore brought into play, including spatial planning, conservation and restoration of nature and biodiversity. Land uses themselves must also be considered and, in many cases, prioritised against one another. This balance and coherence are essential in a context where competing uses—forestry and agriculture versus energy production, for example—often arise.

The Portuguese forest has significant potential as a carbon sink, but this potential will only be fully realised with integrated policies and a long-term vision—because nature operates on its own timeline.

Perhaps the question is not how many trees we will plant—but whether we are finally prepared to assign them their proper value.

Angela Lucas,Lawyer and consultant in sustainability, environment and climatePartner at Systemic SphereandResearcher at the Center for Responsible Business and Leadership – CATÓLICA-LISBON

Published on Jornal Negócios