ARLINGTON, VA, 12 November 2026 – The Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) has issued 6.57 million TREES Credits to the Government of Ghana for its success in reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. Ghana is the first country in Africa to receive TREES Credits, marking a significant milestone for jurisdictional REDD+. The issuance also marks the first credits issued under ART’s TREES Crediting Level approach, as well as the first TREES Credits to be labeled as Core Carbon Principles (CCP) Approved in the ART Registry.
The issuance recognizes Ghana’s efforts to tackle deforestation and degradation across approximately 2.5 million hectares. Through its jurisdictional REDD+ program, Ghana is bringing together government agencies, cocoa producers, private sector partners and local communities to protect forests while supporting sustainable agricultural production and rural livelihoods.
“Ghana’s world-famous cocoa tastes a bit sweeter today, after a successful independent verification of their work to protect forests at scale. Ghana’s achievement demonstrates how jurisdictional REDD+ can bring together governments, businesses and communities to tackle the drivers of deforestation, offering the world a powerful example of high-integrity, ambitious climate action. This is an important milestone for Ghana, for Africa and for the continued growth of carbon markets to create positive impacts at a jurisdictional scale,” said Mary Grady, Executive Director of ART.
Ghana becomes the third country to receive TREES Credits, marking the growing momentum behind jurisdictional REDD+. It follows multiple issuances to Guyana under ART’s High Forest, Low Deforestation (HFLD) crediting approach, and an issuance to Costa Rica under ART’s Removals approach, which recognizes successful forest restoration. Together, these achievements demonstrate how ART’s different crediting approaches can support a wide range of forest protection and restoration efforts, reflecting the diverse circumstances and priorities of tropical forest countries.
Today, 37 jurisdictions across Africa, Asia and the Americas participate in ART’s program, together spanning more than 1 billion acres – roughly a quarter of the world’s tropical forests.
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 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. For more information visit ARTredd.org.
