Damon Matthews and Kristina Hughes

In this talk, Damon Matthews will speak to the scientific underpinning of the durability debate within carbon markets, and how this relates to the timescales at play in the climate system. Building on this scientific rationale, he will present an approach to value the climate benefit of temporary storage, in which time-dependent storage can be related to tangible climate outcomes. This benefit can be quantified by time units of storage (storage-years) which could be operationalized in carbon markets in a variety of mechanisms.

Kristina Hughes will then introduce the concept of a Permanence Trust, a pooled financial mechanism designed to safeguard the long-term integrity of nature-based carbon credits by managing reversal risks such as wildfires and other ecological disturbances, even after project contracts conclude. The Trust works by collecting resources across many projects and holding them in a shared reserve that can be deployed for monitoring, recovery, and compensation whenever carbon storage is threatened. This approach is important because it provides buyers,  investors, regulators and communities with confidence that carbon benefits from Natural Climate Solutions will persist, thereby helping to scale high-integrity solutions at the pace the world needs.

Speaker Biographies

Damon Matthews – Professor of Geography, Planning and Environment, Concordia University

Damon Matthews is a Professor at Concordia University in climate science. His research expertise includes remaining carbon budgets, net-zero targets, and nature-based climate mitigation strategies. He is a Member of Canada’s Net-Zero Advisory Body, and the Director of Future Earth Canada. He also co-founded the Climate Clock, a public engagement project to motivate and accelerate climate action.  Dr. Matthews holds a Ph.D. (2004) from the University of Victoria.

Kristina Hughes – Senior Manager of Product Refinement, American Forest Foundation

Kristina Hughes is a sustainability and forestry professional dedicated to developing innovative, science-based solutions for forest management and climate action. As senior manager of product refinement at the American Forest Foundation (AFF), she oversees a $39 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) supporting family forest owners in sustainable management and access to carbon markets. Her leadership supports the refinement of AFF’s Family Forest Carbon Program to increase program effectiveness and credit integrity. Most recently, she has overseen a feasibility study in partnership with Kita to develop a blueprint for a global permanence trust to ensure the long-term durability of natural climate solutions within carbon markets.

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