Sustainability

Located in Rivas, Nicaragua, this wind power project delivers zero -emissions renewable electricity to the National Grid. The wind turbines are placed along the shores of Lake Nicaragua, in the southwest of the country, where wind is a plentiful natural resource. Carbon finance supports every stage of the project, from the development, design, engineering and financing, to the construction, operation and maintenance of the wind power plant facilities. This project is verified by both the Gold Standard and CDM.

In addition to delivering emission reductions to take climate action (SDG 13), the project also delivers a number of other benefits including:

• Quality Education: All the technical staff is trained on occupational health and safety, as well as turbine technology and maintenance, increasing their ability to work in similar roles.

• Affordable and Clean Energy: This project increases access and investment in clean energy, helping the Nicaraguan electrical grid grow in with sustainable sources of power.

• Decent Work and Economic Growth: Nicaragua can achieve higher levels of economic growth through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation with this project.

• Life on Land: Ecosystem considerations were integrated into the planning processes, so the project is not in an environmentally sensitive area, but rather in open areas for cattle.

• Partnerships for the Goals: The project promotes the development and transfer of environmentally sound technologies to a developing country.

Public transport is the primary mode of road transport for most people in India, and the public transport systems are among the most heavily used in the world, transporting billions of passengers per year. Under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) methodology for mass rapid transit projects, carbon finance supported Metro Delhi in installing over 100 kilometres of state -of -the art electric rail systems with new trains. The project is entirely rail -based and only uses electricity. Emission reductions are achieved through reducing GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions per passenger -kilometre, compared to conventional modes of transport. Reducing transportation emissions is crucial as India has the highest death toll per year from air pollution.

In addition to delivering emissions reductions to take climate action (SDG 13), the project delivers additional benefits:

• Good Health and Well -being: 3.6.1 Reduces death rate due to road traffic injuries; 3.9.1 Reduces mortality rate attributed to household and ambient air pollution

• Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure: 9.1.2 Increases passenger and freight volumes, by mode of transport

• Sustainable Cities and Communities: 11.2.1 Increases proportion of population that has convenient access to public transport, by sex, age and persons with disabilities

• Partnerships for the Goals: 17.7.1 Increases total amount of funding for developing countries to promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies

• Partnerships for the Goals: The project promotes the development and transfer of environmentally sound technologies to a developing country.

In the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka, more than 21 million people (nearly 4 times the population of Atlanta) rely on natural gas to power their homes, businesses and factories. The local gas distribution company has a network that is old and in disrepair, resulting in significant release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas which is more than 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a heat-trapping gas.

To reduce and prevent natural gas leaks, the project financed the purchase and import of specialised equipment, called Leak Detectors and Hi-Flow Samplers, along with advanced sealant materials to ensure long lasting sealing of any leaks that were identified by the programme. To date, specially trained staff have checked more than 500,000 gas risers, identifying and repairing more than 37,000 leaks. Avoided losses of natural gas are enough to fuel a 119-MW power plant.

In addition to delivering emission reductions to take climate action (SDG 13), the project also delivers a number of other benefits including:

• Good Health and Well-Being: The project reduces the risk of accidents and hazardous pollution from gas leaks. The repairs also address low-pressure problems that leave some customers unable to cook and heat their homes.

• Affordable and Clean Energy: Bangladesh is struggling to meet a rising demand for energy. The country is running out of locally sourced natural gas and has recently had to begin importing liquefied natural gas (LNG). This project reduces the need for LNG imports that are up to 5 times the local price.

• Decent Work and Economic Growth: Bangladesh is one of the 50 Least Developed Countries in the world, where poor infrastructure hampers develop­ment. International experts trained 70 people from the local communities to find and repair leaks, while a further 30 support staff were employed.

• Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure: Specialised technology and techniques have been transferred to support the development of sustainable infrastructure. Gas leaks were found to be far more common in the poorest areas due to a lack of knowledge and social power among the people there. The networks in deprived areas had been neglected for many years and were the recipients of the greatest number of gas leak repairs.

90% of Brazil’s Acre state is forested, but current rates of destruction mean by 2030 this could decline to 65%.

This collection of three Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) projects aims to prevent deforestation across 105,000 hectares of pristine rainforest in the Amazon basin, protecting some of the world’s most biodiverse habitats.

With the support of carbon finance, the projects work with communities and local groups to help protect ecosystem services while providing alternative models of economic development which avoid destruction of the forest.

Granting land tenure and providing agricultural training to prevent deforestation and promote sustainable economic livelihoods.

In addition to delivering approximately 360,000 tonnes of emission reductions each year, the project delivers a number of other sustainable development benefits. These include:

• No poverty: Strengthening business capacity through training, and plans to provide a boat for exporting goods, will further help communities lower their transaction costs and increase market access for their crops.

• Zero hunger: Families have been trained and will continue to have access to courses on how to grow bananas, chickpeas, cassava and corn; artisanal processing of fish; rearing organic pigs; and using rotational cattle pastures. The goal is to increase yields and help make these agricultural activities more profitable.

• Life on land: The project areas are part of a key habitat for several endangered and vulnerable species, while the proximity to other large intact forest areas increases overall habitat connectivity. The International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has identified a variety of plant and animal species in Acre that are either vulnerable or endangered, including the Woolly Monkey and Black-faced Monkey (both endangered), Goeldi’s Monkey (vulnerable), and 16 species of flora that are endangered or vulnerable but are currently protected through this project. Within the Acre project area specifically, Scarlet Macaw, Amazon River Dolphins, Squirrel Monkeys, and Great White Herons have also been observed.

• Good health and well-being: Communities living within the Acre project area have historically lacked access to adequate health services as a result of the remote location. To improve community livelihoods, the project has facilitated doctor visits from local towns on a periodic basis, known as the Itinerant Health Programme. The projects also plan to build local health centres and dental clinics, providing consistent local community access to improved medical facilities and services. The clinics will hire and train a local community member to provide basic first aid, and a small pharmacy will also be provided for basic medicine distribution.

• Quality education: The projects have hosted agricultural courses to support diversification of agricultural production and household income, while raising awareness of the benefits of avoided deforestation. To raise awareness of the importance of conservation in schools, lessons are being incorporated into educational programmes. The project aims to improve the quality of education for local youth through school infrastructure developments, such as building new classrooms to offer separate learning spaces for different grades.

• Decent work and economic growth: The projects have recruited workers from the local area to assist with the forest carbon inventory, regional deforestation and land-use modelling. Jobs are also created through the installation and monitoring of wildlife via wildlife camera traps and local project management, assisting delivery of project goals.

• Life below water: Located on the Purus, Jurua and Valparaiso Rivers, important tributaries of the Amazon, the projects incorporate important inland water ecosystems that provide benefits such as pollution and nutrient absorption and recycling, flood management, drinking water supply, and mitigation against the impacts of climate change. The Acre project is helping to rehabilitate degraded areas along the riverbank through reforestation activities, helping to combat riverbed erosion and polluting sediment levels in the water, while enhancing overall protection of watersheds through decreased deforestation.

With the help of carbon financing, the Gola Rainforest National Park was established to better protect the 70,000-hectare Park, the 70,000-hectare buffer zone, and the millions of tonnes of carbon that are locked within it.

Gola’s previous Forest Reserve status did not prohibit small-scale logging operations, industrial and artisanal mining, and agricultural activities, and the forest area was under threat of rapid deforestation and degradation.

This project is enabling local stakeholders (government, communities and national NGOs) to manage this entire landscape sustainably, to benefit local communities and wildlife.

All the project’s efforts, from National Park Forest Guard employment opportunities to the establishment of a cocoa farmer’s co-operative, contribute to the rebuilding of lives after a decade of civil war and the recent Ebola outbreak.

In addition to delivering emissions reductions to take climate action (SDG 13), the project delivers additional benefits. The SDG contributions have been indicatively measured, but need to be confirmed:

• No Poverty: Farming and community saving schemes impact over 24,000 local people across 122 communities. This project reintroduces sustainable cocoa production skills that were lost during the civil war and Ebola crisis.

• Decent Work and Economic Growth: Carbon finance supports 160+ staff, the vast majority coming from forest edge communities, primarily through the Gola Rainforest National Park Forest Guard and sustainable cocoa production.

• Life on Land: This REDD+ project protects habitat for 327 bird species, 650 endemic plant species, and 49 mammals, including the Pygmy Hippo and the Western Chimpanzee.

This portfolio of emission reduction projects focuses on the often-unseen emissions from the industrial manufacturing of goods like bricks, cement, and insulation.

For example, an individual or business that is environmentally conscious and looking to insulate a building to reduce future emissions from heating and cooling will want to use the most efficient materials with the smallest carbon footprint. Unfortunately, insulation is often installed using high-emission spray foam rather than low-emission board stock.

This project supports the transition to greener practices among manufacturers and construction contractors. It is a new offset type and reduces emissions through the voluntary transition to low-emission insulation. By avoiding spray foams with hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) these industrial efficiency projects can prevent these extremely potent greenhouse gasses from reaching the atmosphere.

In addition to delivering emission reductions to take climate action (SDG 13), the project delivers another benefit:

• Industry, innovation and infrastructure: This portfolio of projects helps small- and medium-sized industrial businesses to go above and beyond mandates to decarbonize processes and deliver products used in the built environment that will not release greenhouse gases.

• Responsible consumption and production: This portfolio of projects supports the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in line with international frameworks, and significantly reduces their release to air, water and soil.

The Jurua River is the most-winding river in the Amazon basin and is over 2,000 miles long. Without sustainable options, some communities along the riverbanks clear land to earn a living through agriculture. Deforestation in Brazil has accounted for nearly a third of the global decline in forest cover in recent years.

This Gold rated project is verified by CCB (Climate, Community & Biodiversity) for social impacts and conservation of pristine Amazon rainforest. Carbon finance supports the local families in gaining formal land rights for preventing deforestation and farmers are trained in conservation-based agriculture.

The Amazon rainforest is home to some of the world’s most biodiverse habitats. The reliable stream of carbon revenues allows local communities to protect ecosystems. The project has facilitated the construction of bathrooms, health clinics as well as doctor visits from local towns on a periodic basis.

• No Poverty: End poverty in all its forms everywhere.

• Zero Hunger: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.

• Good Health and Well-being: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

• Quality Education: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.