Implementation constraints on natural climate solutions: A global literature review and survey

Implementation constraints on natural climate solutions: A global literature review and survey | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Implementation constraints on natural climate solutions: A global literature review and survey Timm Kroeger, James Erbaugh, Zhixian Luo, Hilary Brumberg, Waverly Eichhorst, and 14 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6890465/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Natural Climate Solutions (NCS) – protection, restoration, and improved management of lands and waters that reduce greenhouse gasses – have large climate change mitigation potential. However, a lack of comprehensive information on NCS implementation challenges hinders NCS adoption and delivery of near-term mitigation. Using a global survey of NCS projects and a systematic review of recent NCS studies, we map 46 constraints in eight categories, yielding 15,572 geo-referenced NCS pathway-constraint observations from 501 studies and projects in 137 countries covering 20 of 22 UN subregions. Social-behavioral, Knowledge, and Government-organizational are the most-reported constraint categories, and lack of policy coordination or implementation capacity the most-observed constraint and most frequently top-ranking constraint for pathways and subregions. Despite broad congruence, top constraint and category rankings vary among subregions and pathways, respectively. NCS projects generally encounter multiple constraints in multiple categories, indicating complex challenges. Without enabling efforts, near-term NCS mitigation may remain well below its biophysical potential. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences/Climate-change mitigation Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences/Climate-change adaptation Full Text Additional Declarations Yes there is potential Competing Interest. PHSB is a partner at re.green, a forest restoration company. All other authors declare that they have no competing interests. The survey introduction included an FPIC statement. Prospective participants could only advance to the survey questions after consenting to participate in the study. Supplementary Files Kroegeretal.ImplementationconstraintsSM.pdf Implementation constraints on natural climate solutions: A global literature review and survey Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6890465","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":479802785,"identity":"f60bbbf8-c3b8-4e63-ad1c-f5d09a95572c","order_by":0,"name":"Timm 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