All eyes have been on Carbis Bay for the last few days, as G7 leaders, alongside their counterparts from India, South Korea, Australia and South Africa, met to discuss an unenviable programme of global challenges: COVID, the economic challenges from the pandemic, trade, security, values, and, of course, climate change.
The prominence of climate change discussions and commitments made in the communique are very welcome, and show that, on paper and in press conferences, the leaders of the world’s biggest economies understand what needs to be done.
We support, and are part of, the push to mobilise global capital markets, with governments committing to leverage different types of blended finance. The desire to establish a fair and efficient carbon pricing trajectory is also good news, but what it’ll mean in practice, especially with the volatility of carbon markets these last few months, is unclear – time will tell.
We are also encouraged by the commitments in the G7 Nature Compact to 2030 to increase finance for nature-based solutions through to 2025, as well as the push to ensure that nature is prominent in both policy and economic decision making.
This move, if followed through, chimes with our core belief that investment in nature is one simple step that all businesses and governments can take to achieve their climate ambitions. But the world must also learn lessons from history: endlessly throwing money at a problem is not always the answer. So, yes, mobilise finance and financiers, but demand from the outset that the values that must underpin these investments – integrity and transparency – are not sacrificed.
Vertree provides a vehicle for businesses to achieve many of these goals, through our ability to access capital markets, in our commitment to high integrity offsets and our ways of working. This latter point is encapsulated in what Taraneh Azad said when we launched:
“We created Vertree to provide nature-based solutions that the world can trust, with the highest possible standards of environmental and social integrity.
Our ambition is to enable Vertree clients to trace funding all the way back to the forests and local communities that they’re investing in, ensuring Vertree projects are both transparent and impactful.”
Our optimism though, is tinged by a sense of Deja-vu. The $100 billion figure for climate assistance to developing nations looks like it will once again be a figure of speech. Despite nearly 25 mentions of finance in the Climate and Environment section of the communique, the document lacks detail on how it will be accessed or delivered. Encouraging the World Bank Group and the other Multilateral Development Banks to do more to mobilise finance is promising, but again, what does this mean in practice?
As ever with these summits, the detail, actions, and rhetoric remain disconnected.
This is a time for action and not just words.
Where there is consensus, is that COP26 has taken on greater significance. All roads lead to Glasgow. We hope world leaders take the high road.
Let us achieve our climate ambitions together.
We can mitigate the impact of global climate change together.
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Hartree Partners and ecosecurities launch Project Araucaria to generate $1.5bn to support habitat restoration across Latin America
The project will work with local farmers, landowners, cooperatives, and NGOs in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay The project will…
- The project will work with local farmers, landowners, cooperatives, and NGOs in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay
- The project will help design, finance, and develop nature-based carbon reduction and removal projects, aiming to achieve the highest level of accreditation
- The project targets the creation of over 300 million tonnes of voluntary carbon credits over 30 years
Hartree Partners, Vertree’s founding partner, and ecosecurities today announce an estimated $1.5bn project to work with local farmers, landowners, associations, co-operatives, and NGOs in the Cono-Sur region of Latin America.
Named Project Araucaria after one of the most endangered tree species in the region, this project will help design, finance, and develop nature-based carbon reduction and removal projects in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, generating over 10 million tonnes of voluntary carbon credits each year.
Aggressive agricultural land use and conversion in Latin America now account for almost a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, and over half the deforestation in the world[1]. By working alongside people who own, farm, and support work on the land, Project Araucaria aims to reverse this trend by promoting the conservation and restoration of forests and implementing sustainable agricultural practices.
Ariel Perez, Partner at Hartree Partners, said:
“Reducing emissions is vital to halting devastating climate change; but it’s not enough. We also need to remove carbon that’s already in the atmosphere by restoring key habitats that have already been degraded and destroyed.
“Hartree’s project with ecosecurities will bring significant investment and expertise to farmers, agricultural producers, and landowners across Latin America by supporting their efforts to restore habitats and ecosystems, targeting the reduction and removal of carbon in the atmosphere by over 300 million tonnes.”
Ecosecurities, an impact-driven provider of environmental services with over two decades of experience in carbon emissions reduction and removal projects around the world, will use its on-the-ground presence in and knowledge of Latin America to engage farmers, producers, and landowners across the region. Ecosecurities aim to design and implement at least 20 projects and programmes.
Pablo Fernandez, CEO of ecosecurities said:
“If we are to turn climate commitments into tangible action, we must develop solutions that deliver benefits for local people, nature and, as a result, to the entire planet.
“This is why we are delighted to be partnering with Hartree to deliver Project Araucaria – a vitally important initiative that will promote sustainable production practices and, in turn, reduce global emissions.”
The portfolio aims to achieve certification under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and receive Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB) status; it will be marketed by Vertree.
Hartree Partners, a leading global energy and commodities trading company will invest, develop, manage, and market the projects, to help meet the surging demand for high quality Verified Emissions Reductions as businesses look to play their part in addressing the climate emergency.
[1] The Nature Conservatory, Growing our way to a healthier climate, February 2017
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