Optimizing for Biodiversity in the Voluntary Carbon Market
Relae and JPMorganChase outline six principles for carbon removal projects that deliver both carbon and biodiversity outcomes. The principles provide a framework to guide buyers and developers to achieve measurable results that support dual carbon and nature-positive outcomes.
What's Inside
- Reporting should be grounded in science-based objectives
- Biodiversity outcomes are context-specific and non-fungible
- Carbon and biodiversity goals may need separate timelines
Sarah Federman, PhD
Sarah Federman, PhD
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Dr. Sarah Federman has cross-sector expertise in analytics, forest conservation, working lands policy, and the science underpinning biodiverse and resilient landscapes.
In the policy sector, Dr. Federman contributed as a lead author and coordinator to R&D roadmaps for landscape resiliency and climate-smart innovation for the US Department of Agriculture's Office of the Chief Scientist. While at the USDA, she also supported a federal interagency R&D strategy with the Department of Energy focused on the circular carbon economy. In the private sector, Dr. Federman led, developed, and implemented data-driven continuous improvement frameworks for an indoor agricultural technology startup, as part of a broader strategy to enable responsible vertical scaling.
In academia, Dr. Federman has deep expertise in the ecological dynamics supporting the structure and function of tropical forests. Her work includes peer-reviewed recommendations for forest conservation and management of critically endangered species. She has managed multilateral teams and collaborations in Peru, Madagascar, and Trinidad and Tobago focused on forest ecology and conservation.
Dr. Federman holds a PhD from Yale University's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and a M.S. in forest science from the Yale School of the Environment. Her graduate studies were supported by the National Science Foundation's Graduate Student Research Fellowship Program.
AAAS Science Technology & Policy Fellow, USDA Office of the Chief Scientist
John Spangler Nicholas Prize for best dissertation, Yale University Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
George Gaylord Simpson Prize, Yale Peabody Museum
National Science Foundation Graduate Student Research Fellow
Strachan Donnelley Student Award for outstanding thesis, Yale School of the Environment
Princeton in Latin America Fellow
Centennial Scholar, Barnard College
