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Focus Areas : Least Developed Countries

Least developed countries are among the lowest greenhouse gas emitters in the world, yet receive only modest support from carbon markets and climate finance. This is changing: the international community committed to financing USD 100 billion for mitigation and adaptation by 2020 at the UN climate talks in Copenhagen in December 2009, and renewed attention on the vulnerability and need for capacity and financial resources of least developed countries. Private markets are also place a premium on credible offsets from Africa and poor developing countries.

Climate Focus assists in the identification of opportunities to invest in or support mitigation and adaptation activities in least developed countries. Policy initiatives to engage the poorest developing countries in climate action are gaining momentum. We are actively contributing to climate policy development, including the conservation of natural forests and the avoidance of emissions from agriculture. Climate Focus is also a key player in climate change related business and climate policies in the least developed countries. The “Programmes of Activities” approach in the Clean Development Mechanism is a good example of possibilities to obtain carbon revenue from small projects. In additional to small-scale investments into agricultural waste into bio-energy or biofuel projects, carbon and climate finance may create avenues to access finance for larger energy infrastructure projects.

Our services include:

• Advising on low-carbon development programs
• Informing the development of carbon and climate finance opportunities
• Developing of implementation plans for national appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs)
• Originating carbon projects
• Assessing feasibility and conducting due diligence of climate investments and carbon projects
• Developing project idea notes and project design documents
• Supporting validation, registration and issuance of carbon credits
• Supporting the contracting emission reductions
• Assisting in climate-related policy in developing countries, including finance and national accounting for land use sectors.

Examples of activities and projects

• Development of carbon component of hydroelectric project in Uganda
• Structuring of investment and carbon approval for afforestation and biodiesel project in Malawi
• Assessment of opportunities for forest carbon projects in Madagascar, Senegal and Mali; advise on legal rights to forest carbon in Mali
• Development of Program of Activities supporting household biodigesters in Nepal
• Support of governments of the Congo basin countries, Kenya, Ghana, Argentina and Costa Rica to develop REDD+ strategies and policies
• Analysis of National Finance Architectures required for REDD+
• Designing Subnational Approaches to REDD+ in Ghana