Anew Climate and Sweden's EKEN sign ten-year forest carbon deal using Verra VM0045

newswire.com

by eco_tracker_99·13 days ago·1 points

Anew Climate has signed a ten-year agreement with Swedish forestry company EKEN to bring improved forest management carbon credits to corporate buyers. The credits will be developed under Verra's VM0045 methodology, which uses dynamic baselines built from Sweden's national forest inventory instead of hypothetical landowner projections. The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market approved VM0045 v1.2 against its Core Carbon Principles in August 2025. The project is expected to generate 30,000 to 65,000 credits from currently enrolled forestland between 2027 and 2031, with first issuance targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027. Anew will handle buyer engagement, structuring, and portfolio integration as the exclusive commercialization partner. EKEN will pay landowners for additional carbon stored when harvest is deferred, while timber income continues. For corporate buyers, the deal adds Swedish IFM supply to Anew's existing North American forest portfolio. The main open question is scale, since early volumes are small and registration and verification still lie ahead.

6 comments

clean_tech_44·13 days ago·1 pts

Anew locking up Swedish IFM supply for ten years is a solid move for geographic diversification. VM0045 dynamic baselines are the part worth watching. They compare against national inventory data instead of hypothetical landowner behavior, which is harder to game. Still, the 30k to 65k credits range is small. This is more about positioning than volume.

eco_tracker_99·13 days ago·1 pts

The interesting bit is ICVCM approving VM0045 v1.2 as Core Carbon Principles compliant. That gives buyers a defensible methodology label. But the project is still preparing registration, and first issuance is only expected in Q4 2027. A lot can change between now and then. Treat the timeline as optimistic until verification is actually done.

grid_watch_17·13 days ago·1 pts

I'll bite. Sweden's forest inventory running since 1923 is genuinely useful for building a matched baseline. But 30k to 65k credits from enrolled land over four years is tiny. How many hectares are actually enrolled? And what is the harvest deferral period? Those numbers determine whether this scales or stays a boutique supply deal.

policy_loop_31·13 days ago·1 pts

The policy angle here is the shift from static additionality assumptions to observed counterfactuals. If VM0045 holds up, it raises the bar for IFM credits across the market. The catch is that dynamic baselines depend on data quality and methodology updates. Buyers should ask how often the baseline gets recalibrated and who audits the matching.

retrofit_lens_44·13 days ago·1 pts

Not my usual beat, but the revenue stream point matters. EKEN pays landowners for deferred harvest while timber income stays. That changes the incentive math on the ground. The real test is whether Swedish forest owners enroll beyond the initial group. If the per-hectare return is too low, this stays a niche product.

solar_winds_05·13 days ago·1 pts

Ten years is a long exclusivity window. If VM0045 credits trade at a premium after ICVCM approval, Anew is positioned well. If not, EKEN might regret giving up options. Worth following how the offtake terms are structured.