CARE and Carbon Finance
In recent years, carbon finance has become an increasingly important area of work for development and conservation organizations. As the pressure increases to meet the needs of those most affected by the climate crisis, governments and companies are actively seeking ways to meet climate goals, and carbon projects are attracting growing investment and attention. With this context, it is pertinent to maximize opportunities to channel resources to communities on the frontlines of climate change, but it also raises important questions about equity, participation, benefit-sharing, and accountability. For CARE, ensuring that carbon finance delivers meaningful and lasting benefits for people is as important as delivering climate outcomes.
Carbon finance can move real benefits to the communities involved, but only when projects are designed and governed well. What makes the difference is how a project is set up, who takes part in the decisions, and where the benefits will end up. CARE has spent 75 years working alongside women and girls and marginalized communities in more than 100 countries, and we bring that experience to carbon projects. Our approach goes beyond generating carbon credits: we look at whether a project strengthens people’s livelihoods and resilience, and we track that as closely as we track the carbon.
Building on that experience, we have developed 10 Minimum Requirements for Carbon Finance Projects, which guide every project we develop or support. They sit on top of certification standards rather than replacing them. Gender analysis runs through every stage, women take part in the decisions and can access benefits directly, communities help design how benefits are shared, and safeguarding is built in from the start. We share these with developers and corporate partners early on, so everyone knows what we are working towards.
For more information, or to talk about working together, get in touch with:
Maaike Slotema | Carbon Finance Technical Specialist | CARE Climate Justice Center
mslotema@carenederland.org