Buffer pool
A reserve of credits intended to address specified reversal risks within a programme.
Example
A programme may cancel reserve units following an eligible carbon loss.
The catch
Coverage depends on pool rules, capitalisation and the scale of correlated risks.
In more depth
Buffer pool, explained.
A buffer pool works like pooled insurance for forest and land credits. Each project sets aside a share of the credits it earns, sized by a risk assessment, and those units are never sold. When fire or illegal felling releases carbon that was already credited, the programme cancels pool units to match, so the credits buyers already hold stay backed.
The pool is the main defence most land programmes offer on permanence, which makes its health worth checking. Ask how a project's contribution was set, how many units the pool has already lost to past reversals and whether its rules allow for risks that grow with warming, such as drought and pests.