Our Take: Financing Climate Adaptation in Developing Nations and the Role of International Institutions

In conservation finance, “community engagement” has become almost reflexive. Projects mention it in their opening paragraphs, check the box in their logic models, and schedule a round of stakeholder meetings before implementation begins. Yet across the Innovative Finance for National Forests (IFNF) program, this language often masked a deeper problem: communities were being informed about decisions, not invited to shape them.

Last week, a draft United Nations (UN) document, surfaced by the Financial Times, expressed opposition to companies using credits to neutralize their carbon dioxide footprint. The UN document, prepared by a task force convened by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, advocates that companies should refrain from using carbon credits to offset emissions outside
state-regulated schemes. Instead, the UN believes companies should invest in reducing their emissions rather than relying on the voluntary carbon market (VCM).

Written by Jay Tipton The aviation industry is a major contributor to worldwide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, accounting for approximately 2-3% of total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions globally. As international travel continues to grow, emissions from aviation are expected to rise, with projections that it could make up an enormous 25% of global GHG emissions…

Written by Julie Witherspoon, Principal Consultant In the face of a massive climate finance shortage to address the rapidly growing climate crisis, the role of impactful financial tools to trigger positive change grows more critical. There is a spectrum of financial instruments available to help manage the multifaceted challenges of global warming, environmental protection, and…