Guatemala: a major breakthrough on international forest carbon markets

After more than ten years of effort, negotiations, and institutional structuring, Guatemala completed its first international sale of forest carbon credits in December 2025 as part of its Emissions Reduction Program (PRE). This transaction, worth $24.2 million, marks a major turning point for the country's forestry sector.

Implemented under the coordination of the National Forestry Institute of Guatemala (INAB), with support from the World Bank and the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), the PRE has made it possible to connect actors involved in sustainable forest management—reforestation, conservation, agroforestry—to international markets for payments for environmental services, particularly forest carbon storage.

This first sale brings together more than a thousand projects spread across the country, mainly in rural areas. It directly benefits communities, cooperatives, associations, municipalities, and forestry companies, which for the first time can monetize the environmental services provided by their forests.

The program plans to sell a minimum of 10.5 million tons of CO₂ over a five-year period (2020–2024), with this first transaction representing a foundational step that will be reinforced in the future. With this operation, Guatemala becomes the fourth country in Latin America to conclude an agreement of this kind, confirming the international community's confidence in its ability to manage its forest resources sustainably.

Beyond the financial transaction, this success opens up new economic opportunities for the forestry sector by creating an additional source of income for forest managers and enhancing the appeal of sustainable management as an alternative to forest conversion. It also illustrates the key role that carbon markets and payments for ecosystem services can play when backed by strong institutional frameworks.

This breakthrough is an inspiring example for other forest countries and fuels international discussions on economic mechanisms capable of sustainably supporting forest conservation and regional development.