Avoided deforestation (REDD+) projects are an emissions-reduction project type within the land & forests segment of the carbon market. They are designed to reduce forest loss relative to a deforestation baseline. The carbon benefit comes from avoided emissions from forest carbon that would have been released under baseline deforestation. Common project configurations include Avoided unplanned deforestation; REDD+ project activities in threatened forest areas.

Project quality often depends on the credibility of the counterfactual land-use scenario and how leakage is addressed beyond the immediate project boundary. These projects can protect large carbon stocks and important ecosystems, but their credibility depends heavily on baseline setting, leakage control, permanence, and the strength of social and land-rights safeguards. For buyers and program designers, the most important diligence questions are: Is the baseline deforestation scenario credible? How are leakage, permanence, rights, and benefit sharing handled?