Forest investors weigh timber against carbon credits

Every tree an investment decision

With growing demand for carbon credits, forest investment is no longer only about producing timber. Managers look at species, growth rates and the value of timber compared with credits. They also have to show that trees left standing actually deliver the promised climate benefit. The article cites an estimate that the voluntary carbon market could be worth up to 40 billion dollars by 2030, up from around 2 billion in 2021.

The answer to us is, ‘What do our clients want?’

Clients decide

The quote comes from Brian Kernohan, Chief Sustainability Officer, Private Markets, at Manulife Investment Management. Every forest investment raises the question of how to balance wood products against carbon, he says. The article also points to doubts about the credibility of some credits.

How Timber Carbon sees it

The trade-off between timber and carbon partly falls away when harvested wood goes into buildings and the carbon remains locked in them. Timber Carbon, launched in 2026 as a spin-off of Timber Finance, quantifies, certifies and monetises the carbon removed in mass timber buildings as carbon removal credits on the voluntary carbon market. Thomas Fedrizzi explains in Bündner Wald how this can strengthen sawlog management.