All news posted to the site is archived in the list below. Items are listed in reverse chronological order. You can also subscribe to an RSS feed of our news here.
Forest Trends’ Ecosystem Marketplace, Climate Focus and McGuire Woods invite you to attend the DC Durban Debrief – a panel event exploring post-COP17 scenarios for Kyoto-based carbon mitigation, REDD+ and private sector market engagement. Read more...
On Tuesday, December 6th, with the support of Avoided Deforestation Partners, Winrock International, Climate Focus and Terra Carbon will host an open training workshop at COP17 in Durban, South Africa. The workshop will be a longer version of a similar workshop and webinar held in September 2011. Read more...
Climate Focus staff will be attending COP17 in Durban, South Africa between the 28th of November and the 9th of December. You can meet Robert O'Sullivan, Moritz von Unger and Anna Lehmann at various side events including the ones listed here.
Climate Focus, Gaia Carbon Finance and Triodos Facet together with the EBRD will assist Turkey to catch up in the carbon markets. The partnership will address market barriers with the objective of unlocking the potential that carbon market has in Turkey. Read more...
Click here to watch the video on the ENN (Environmental News Network) website. Climate Focus has assisted Maine Housing in registering VCS methodology for weatherization and is providing support in the ongoing validation.
Climate Focus is pleased to announce the election of Anna Lehmann to the Board of the London-based Carbon Markets and Investors Association (CMIA) at its Annual General Meeting in Brussels on October 12. Read more...
In an article published by Point Carbon in September 2011, Robert O'Sullivan, David Burns, Timothy Pearson, and Thiago Chagas outline how marine and coastal ecosystems offer new opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The article is available on the Point Carbon website for subscribers.
Climate Focus through the USAID-funded LEAF project has contributed a background paper on REDD+ finance for a REDD+ stakeholder consultation workshop held in Panama on 2 October, 2011. The workshop forms part of the project ‘Towards a Governance Framework for REDD+ Financing’, a joint initiative between the Government of the Philippines and Switzerland. Read more...
Winrock International, Climate Focus, and TerraCarbon will be hosting a workshop and webinar on the guidance document and modules on September 8th, 2011. The workshop and webinar will focus on the Methodology Framework; baseline-setting for forest degradation and planned and unplanned deforestation; leakage; and monitoring. Click here for further details.
The workshop, held in Bangkok, Thailand between 23-25 August, 2011, will have a dual purpose, serving as the kickoff event to introduce the LEAF program and as the first workshop on the technical aspects necessary to launch effective REDD+ strategies. Click here for more information.
Ernestine Meijer of Climate Focus published the article “De Cancun Klimaatconferentie, en hoe nu verder?" in the Dutch Law Journal “Tijdschrift voor Milieu en Recht” (2011/90). Read more...
Climate Focus helped to organize a training workshop for local government officials to increase local capacities for REDD+ implementation and enhance cooperation on REDD+ in the Yucatan Peninsula. Read more...
Donna Lee of Climate Focus discusses private sector participation in REDD in the New York Times article “A Slow Start for the Carbon Credit Market”. The article is available on the New York Times website.
Climate Focus presenta la versión en español de su reciente publicación: Manual de Programa de Actividades: Guía Práctica para una Implementación Exitosa. El Manual provee asistencia invaluable para actores interesados en el desarrollo de Programas de Actividades (PoA). Lea mas aqui... Click here for the PoA Manual in Spanish...
On June 11 in Bonn, Climate Focus launched the Climate Change and Agriculture Scoping Report, aimed at providing context and analysis for addressing agriculture in international climate negotiations. To download the report, and read more about the key issues identified and process for writing the report, click here.
A new publication, “Creation and Evolution of Adaptation Funds”, commissioned by WWF was published in April 2011, exploring the history and evolution of the four largest existing adaptation funds. To read the whole report, click here.
Climate Focus has published its analysis of the design options for Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) under the Cancun Agreements. To read more, please follow this link.
In a study commissioned by KfW on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety under the ongoing CDM/JI Initiative, Climate Focus provides an analysis of the regulatory situation post 2012 for JI and offsetting in and for the European Union.
Click here to view the whole report.
Climate Focus' Darragh Conway and Szymon Mikolajczyk organized a screening of climate change docu-drama "The Age of Stupid" at the Amsterdam cultural centre, Café Mezrab. Both will make short presentations following the screening documenting developments in actions to combat climate change since the film’s production two years ago and will take questions from the audience.
Click here to see details of the screening, or here to find out more about The Age of Stupid.
Winrock International, along with SNV and Climate Focus were recently awarded a 5-year, $20 million cooperative agreement with USAID to implement a new Asia Regional Sustainable Landscapes Program. The program will strengthen the capacity of developing countries in the region to achieve meaningful and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from the forestry-land use sector and to participate in and benefit from the emerging international REDD+ framework. Climate Focus will lead the Program’s work on law and policy and market mechanisms to support REDD+. Read more.
Darragh Conway’s article “The United Nations Security Council and climate change: Challenges and opportunities” has been published in Climate Law. To read a whole article click here...
Charlotte Streck is a featured panelist in a teleconference titled "International Climate Change Cooperation in Light of Cancun" that will be held on Wednesday, March 9, 2011. Read more...
Climate Focus, together with CDC Climat, organized a conference in Paris on 21 January to discuss policy options for project mechanisms in Europe after 2012. The Paris conference brought together EU policy-makers, climate change experts, market-participants and NGOs to assess the outcome of Cancun from the perspective of project mechanisms in the EU, identify the appetite for a new European offsetting mechanism under Article 24a of the EU ETS, and explore the next steps for putting such a mechanism in place. Read more...
The results of CP16/CMP6 in Cancun, Mexico held from November 29 through December 10, 2010 offer reason to celebrate even though a post-2012 climate deal was not struck and thorny issues will remain unresolved until next year at CP17/CMP7 in Durban, South Africa.
Climate Focus shares with you an analysis of the outcomes of the Cancun Climate Conference in this short briefing document. Read more here.
Climate Focus partnered with Maine Housing and Lee International to develop a Methodology for Weatherization of Single and Multi-Family Buildings, the first approach approved by the VCS to incentivize weatherization of homes. Read More...
The Avoided Deforestation Partners REDD Methodology Modules also completed VCS Approval following two and a half years of development by a group of REDD experts convened by Climate Focus Read more...
Based on its experience with the concept and application of subnational, or nested, REDD activities, Climate Focus begins a year-long work program to support the VCS Association in developing a framework to operationalize jurisdictional and nested REDD. Read more....
Charlotte Streck, Moritz von Unger, Robert O'Sullivan and Michael Coren will attend COP16 from November 29 until December 11, 2010. They will make presentations on law and policy, agriculture and forests, and on JI and offsetting mechanisms.
Click here for a description of events, venues and additional details where to find them.
Climate Focus is leading a consortium for DFID to examine how climate finance can incentivize climate mitigation and food security for agriculture in the developing world. To read more and to download the policy brief please follow this link to our publications section.
As part of the Forestry Development in Montenegro (FODEMO) Project funded by Lux-Development, Climate Focus prepared analyses of carbon market opportunities under FODEMO, focusing on NAMAs, CDM Program of Activities and REDD+ opportunities. Read more...
As part of UNEP's latest issue: ‘Pathways for implementing REDD+: Experience from carbon markets and communities’, Charlotte Streck contributed an analysis focused on Finance for REDD+ and the role of carbon markets. Read more....
Charlotte Streck discusses synergies between increasing agricultural productivity and addressing climate change in agriculture in a recent post to the blog BROKER ONLINE. This synthesis relates to her recent Keynote Address at the Global Conference on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change in early November in the Hague, Netherlands. Read more...
Climate Focus helped facilitate a workshop to discuss options for implementing early action REDD+ activities in Ghana as part of the country's process to design a nested accounting framework. Interactive discussions spurred progress on the next steps amongst public authorities, civil society stakeholders and project developers. Read more...
In a new Climate Focus commentary, Moritz von Unger discusses the merits of International Emissions Trading and Green Investment Schemes, putting them into perspective for climate change mitigation action after 2012. Read more…
Charlotte Streck presented on climate science, politics and public opinion in Madison, Wisconsin, USA at the Fall Seminar Series sponsored by the Center for Climate Research and the Climate, People, and the Environment Program. Read more...
The methodology developed by Maine Housing and Lee International, US and Climate Focus for the “Weatherization of single and multi-family residential buildings” receives its 2nd approval from DNV USA Inc. Read more...
Charlotte Streck will give a Keynote Address to the Global Conference on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change November 3, 2010 in the Hague. Read more...
Charlotte Streck will be a featured panelist at the World Bank's Law & Justice Forum 2010 to be held in Washington DC between November 8 and 12, 2010. She will be presenting on the topic of “Mainstreaming Climate Finance”. Read More...
The first session in a dialogue series focused on climate change is being sponsored by the Governments of Mexico and Switzerland. The World Business Council on Sustainable Development and the International Chamber of Commerce are hosting the series, and the first session, held on September 1-2 in Geneva, focuses on the role of the private sector in a future climate regime. Climate Focus Director Charlotte Streck facilitates the session. Read more...
Climate Focus and Climate Wedge presented comments to the California Environmental Protection Agency encouraging it draft its guidelines for California’s cap and trade system to influence emerging international REDD mechanisms. The rules defined for AB 32’s demand for REDD offsets and internationally linked credits can shape long term sustainable and scalable REDD mechanisms and associated projects. Read more...
Although contributing 14% of the world’s GHG emissions, agriculture has been largely neglected until now. Michael Coren looks at the future of the agricultural sector and climate change in an editorial for the Katoomba Group. With synergies between mitigation and adaptation within reach, agriculture’s time has finally come. Read more...
Climate Focus promotes African access to carbon markets by actively participating in the World Bank sponsored African Electrification Initiative (AEI). Read more...
Climate Focus and the Danish engineering firm COWI will help the Danish government with designing a domestic offset programme. Read more...
Climate Focus is evaluating the feasibility for electricity interconnection projects in Latin America to participate in the carbon markets. Read more...
The methodology developed by Climate Focus, Maine Housing and Lee International, US for the “Weatherization of single and multi-family residential buildings” receives approval from First Environment. The methodology follows the double approval process of the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) where First Environment acts as the first validator. Completion of the second validation is expected soon.
VietNamNet Bridge published Charlotte Streck’s article about Vietnam’s role in REDD+ on occasion of a Hanoi Conference on Payment for Ecosystem Services from REDD. The article discusses Vietnam’s active involvement in REDD+ related activities over the past 20 years, signaling how it serves as a model for the ‘plus’ component of REDD+, and can further develop its policies and programs. Read more...
Charlotte Streck traveled to Australia in April 2010 to speak at a seminar on Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use hosted by local partners GreenCollar Climate Solutions together with Baker & McKenzie and DNV (Det Norske Veritas). Read more...
On 15th and 27th of April Climate Focus will hold, together with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and Ecofys, a stakeholder workshop in Sao Paulo and Washington D.C, respectively...
Yale University has released “Carbon Finance II: Investing in Forests for Climate Protection,” a collection of lectures given during the 2008–2009 Carbon Finance Speaker Series at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and the Yale School of Management. Read more...
The Rockefeller Foundation commissioned an assessment of the investment potential for agricultural carbon in Africa that could improve soil fertility, enhance carbon stocks and contribute to food security. Climate Focus -in collaboration with Forest Trends and Ecoagriculture Partners- has published a feasibility study for “An African Agricultural Carbon Facility Feasibility Assessment and Design Recommendations”. Read more...
Climate Focus is releasing a study commissioned by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to assess the supply of high quality REDD + credits for international carbon markets (2011-2035). Read more...
Charlotte Streck gave a lecture titled "From Copenhagen to Cancun: The Future of Legal Regime Governing Climate Change" at the law school of the University of Wisconsin. Read more...
Emissions trading can boost energy efficiency in Chinese buildings; argue Climate Focus’s Karla Lieberg, Sandra Greiner and Adriaan Korthuis in an article published in in the March edition of Trading Carbon. Read more...
The Nairobi Framework back in 2006 has as objective to foster the use of Clean Development Mechanism in underrepresented regions. Africa has seen an augment both in the number of CDM projects and in the number of countries hosting them. Nevertheless, Africa continues to represent less than 2% of the total CDM projects registered. Read more...
Roundtable on Article 24a of the revised EU ETS Directive - Brussels On the 1st of March 2010, Climate Focus, together with the Belgian Ministry of Health Food Chain Safety and Environment and Caisse des dépôts, organised a roundtable held in Brussels on the potentials of Article 24a of the revised EU ETS Directive for developing a system of domestic offsets within the European Union. Representatives of the EU Commission, the Joint Implementation Supervisory Committee, Member States, the private sector and research institutes actively participated with presentations and discussions. Read more...
The 2009 climate change conference in Copenhagen did not produce the new global treaty to address climate change many people sought. Nevertheless, climate change and climate change law and policy continue. Legal Aspects of Carbon Trading is a follow-up to the successful 2005 book Legal Aspects of Implementing the Kyoto Protocol Mechanisms: Making Kyoto Work. In this new edition Charlotte Streck and David Freestone offer a comprehensive insight of the crucial legal issues surrounding the world of carbon finance. Read more...
Christiana Figueres and Charlotte Streck published a background paper on enhanced financial mechanism for post-2012 developing country mitigation for the World Development Report 2010. Read more...
Climate Focus prepared an analysis of the treatment of international carbon credits in the US cap-and-trade bills for the the January 2010 edition of the Carbon Trading and Energy Finance Committee Newsletter of the American Bar Association (ABA). Read more...
The German Ministry of the Environment (BMU) has appointed a consortium of Tsinghua University, Climate Focus and four other organisations to evaluate and test the application of carbon financing instruments to the Chinese building sector. Read more...
The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development this week published a report on carbon market options for Kazakhstan prepared by Climate Focus. The report looks into the status of Kazakhstan under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol and examines options for carbon market activities, in particular Joint Implementation (JI). Read more..
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Ecofys and Climate Focus have been awarded a study contract by the European Commission to look into possible design options for effective and formal private sector engagement within the international climate change policy development and implementation process. Read more...
On 23 October, 2009, Charlotte Streck will be a panelist at Columbia Law School's Bio-Sequestration and Climate Law and Policy Conference. Read more..
The provision of adequate resources for financing the three building blocks of the Bali Action Plan (mitigation, adaptation, technology) is at the centre of UNFCCC negotiations. The design of an appropriate financial mechanism is therefore an essential element of an agreed outcome at the Copenhagen climate conference in December 2009 (COP-15). Read more...
Upon request of the countries of the Central African Commission on Forests (COMIFAC), Climate Focus prepared a document analyzing various REDD financing options, with a particular emphasis on the implications of market and fund based approaches. The document was presented as the ministerial meeting of the COMIFAC that took place in Kinshasa on the 15/16 September 2009. Read more...
The European Forestry House hosted a workshop aimed at exchanging views with private forests owners, the wood industry and NGOs on the inclusion of forestry carbon credits in the EU ETS. Dr. Charlotte Streck made a presentation aimed at responding to concerns from EU’s DG Environment about the possible impact of inclusion of forestry credits on the EU carbon market. Read more..
The complete set of REDD Methodology Modules was submitted to TÜV SÜD for validation against the Voluntary Carbon Standard in April 2009. TÜV SÜD conducted a 30 day public commenting period as part of their review of the modules. Read more...
The initiative has brought together a group of internationally recognized climate policy experts to develop a series of freely available methodology modules for advancing REDD projects. These modules will enable project developers to estimate the real emission reductions of projects that reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation ("REDD"). Read more...
In a special report commissioned by the Government of Norway released March 16th 2009 Climate Focus’ Charlotte Streck contributed to the structuring of financial mechanisms that frame a flexible, global approach to providing adequate incentives to REDD policies and greenhouse gas reductions from the forest sector. Read more...
The Various Levels of REDD” summarizes findings from a September 23rd, 2008 workshop covering topics regarding the architecture of Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation...
On September 22, 2008, Avoided Deforestation Partners convened a luncheon and roundtable discussion in New York. Special international guests, such as Dr. Wangari Matthaai and Al Gore, were joined by NGO chairpersons and presidents, private sector investors, and project developers to discuss the importance of REDD policy and strategies for strengthening international forest protecttion provisions in US climate change legislation. Read more...
Climate Focus, Avoided Deforestation Partners, and other organizations (Green Belt Movement, The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, Covington & Burling LLP, PG&E Corp., and Baker & McKenzie LLP) hosted a luncheon discussion on 19 May 2008 on the science and economics behind climate change and deforestation. Read more...
The report, The Role of Sector No-Lose Targets in Scaling up Finance for Climate Change Mitigation Activities in Developing Countries, prepared for DEFRA has been published. Read more...
The Programme of Activities (PoA) is a strong new concept under the CDM with the potential to literally bring the benefits of the CDM into the houses of people in developing and Least Developed Countries (LDC). Climate Focus was invited by the CDM Executive Board to provide suggestions for further improvement of the PoA concept. Read more...
The Magazine of the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers published an interview with Adriaan Korthuis, Director of Climate Focus, on 9 January 2008 addressing the state of the Climate Change debate, the current carbon market and the need of poor countries to receive finance to combat climate change. Read more...
Dr. Charlotte Streck gave the first Lecture in a series titled “Blowing in the Wind: Current Issues in Law, Environment and Development” during the month of January 2008. Read more...
Amsterdam Washington DC Beijing Copyright © 2001-2010 Climate Focus B.V.
Chinese