Benefit sharing and benefit-sharing agreements (BSAs) are common instruments used in mining, infrastructure, and other land- and resource-intensive projects to formally establish and mediate the distribution of benefits from a project to local stakeholders, often communities living in and around project areas. Arrangements and mechanisms for benefit-sharing in nature-based carbon projects–projects that alter land-use in forests, peatlands, rangelands, and other biomes to sequester carbon and generate tradeable units (carbon credits)--are still in relative infancy, though standards and toolkits for “high-integrity” projects and benefit-sharing mechanisms are slowly beginning to emerge.

Verra’s latest update to its Verified Carbon Standard marks a clear attempt to restore trust in voluntary carbon markets by introducing stronger rules on carbon rights and benefit-sharing. But will these changes deliver genuine transformation, or merely reduce the most visible forms of abuse in carbon projects? SDSG Carbon Fellow Bennett Jarvis examines whether the new standard meaningfully shifts power toward communities, or simply places guardrails around a flawed model.