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The guide outlines five principles for corporate climate leadership: reducing emissions in own business, cutting land-based emissions in value chains, investing in nature-based solutions beyond value chains, ensuring responsible policy engagement, and reporting transparently. It emphasizes that investments in nature-based solutions, such as high-quality carbon credits, must complement rather than replace deep decarbonization efforts. The document argues that scaling these investments is essential to meet Paris Agreement goals, noting that nature-based solutions currently receive only 3% of climate finance despite representing about 30% of the climate solution.

The report evaluates a 2,868-hectare assisted natural regeneration (ANR) project in Sodo Woreda, Ethiopia, finding that it provides direct economic benefits to farmers and delivers climate adaptation and mitigation services. The analysis demonstrates that ANR is an investment-worthy strategy for combating land degradation and enhancing rural resilience, particularly when located upland of cropland to reduce erosion.

The analysis finds that a vast majority of non-state entities fail to meet the minimum criteria for net zero targets established by the UN HLEG. While the number of pledges from cities, regions, and companies has increased over the past year, many remain as mere aspirations without detailed transition plans, interim targets, or transparent reporting mechanisms. Specifically, only a minority of companies include full value chain emissions (Scope 3) in their targets, and over half of cities with net zero pledges lack any reporting mechanism to track progress.

Carbon Market Watch (CMW) argues that the proposed "REDD+ Project in Oro Province of Papua New Guinea" by Kanaka Management Services Private Limited should be rejected by Verra due to significant "red flags" in its Project Description Document (PDD). CMW highlights a lack of evidence for the project's baseline deforestation estimates, additionality assumptions, and stakeholder consultation processes. The project, which would be the second largest Verra VCS project if approved, aims to generate 8.1 million credits annually for 100 years, but CMW contends that the PDD fails to provide the necessary data, maps, and justifications to verify these claims. Furthermore, CMW notes that a moratorium issued by Papua New Guinea's Ministry for Environment, Conservation and Climate Change on March 2, 2022, likely renders the project ineligible.

The document provides a detailed breakdown of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, distinguishing between the bilateral trading of Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) under Article 6.2 and the UN-overseen global carbon market under Article 6.4. It highlights critical risks such as double counting, the potential for 'junk' credits transitioning from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and the lack of transparency in reporting. The guide also argues against the inclusion of avoided emissions and short-lived carbon storage as bases for credits, while advocating for mandatory cancellation rates to ensure overall mitigation in global emissions.

The document argues that 'net zero' targets are deceptive tools used by fossil fuel and agribusiness giants to avoid radical emission cuts. It specifically critiques 'nature-based solutions' (NBS) and soil carbon sequestration as mechanisms that facilitate land grabbing, marginalize small-scale farmers, and prioritize corporate profit over genuine agroecology and food sovereignty.

The document argues that 'net zero' pledges act as a 'smokescreen' for corporations to continue fossil fuel extraction and industrial agriculture. It specifically critiques nature-based solutions (NbS) and soil carbon sequestration, claiming these mechanisms facilitate land grabbing, data harvesting by agribusiness and IT firms, and the co-option of agroecology. The report contends that carbon offsetting relies on a false 'equivalence' between volatile biomass carbon and long-term fossil carbon, ultimately benefiting corporate power over small-scale food producers.

The report argues that 'net zero' targets are a 'smokescreen' allowing corporations to maintain fossil-fuel-based business models through carbon offsetting and 'nature-based solutions'. It contends that these mechanisms lead to land grabbing, the dispossession of Indigenous and peasant communities, and the co-option of agroecology. The document specifically highlights the risks of soil carbon farming as a means for agribusiness and IT companies to harvest farm data and exert control over land use. It concludes that real climate justice requires a transition to food sovereignty and a rapid phase-out of fossil fuels rather than reliance on unverifiable carbon credits.

The Africa Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI) aims to expand Africa's voluntary carbon markets (VCMs) to mobilize climate finance and create jobs. The report identifies a technical potential of up to 2,400 MtCO2e per annum by 2030 and proposes 13 action programmes to overcome barriers such as fragmented project development, high capital costs, and regulatory uncertainty. Key goals include increasing credit retirements to 300 MtCO2e and creating 30 million jobs by 2030.

The document outlines a framework of 12 principles to ensure that nature-based solutions (NbS) provide fair, accountable, rights-based, and effective benefits to local stakeholders. It emphasizes the need to prevent 'elite capture' and corruption by requiring deep stakeholder participation, transparency, and the protection of Indigenous Peoples' rights, including free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC). The framework argues that for NbS to be sustainable, the net socioeconomic benefits must be positive for those affected, accounting for all costs and trade-offs.

The document outlines a framework for high-integrity benefit-sharing mechanisms (BSMs) in forest-based nature-based solutions. It organizes 12 principles under four values: Impartiality, Accountability, Rights-based approach, and Effectiveness. These principles aim to prevent elite capture and corruption while ensuring that Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) receive fair, transparent, and additive benefits that outweigh the costs of participation.

The document outlines 12 principles to ensure integrity in benefit-sharing mechanisms (BSM) for forest-based nature-based solutions (NbS). These principles are categorized into four values: Equity, Accountability, Rights-based approach, and Effectiveness. The goal is to prevent corruption, such as elite capture, and ensure that local communities and indigenous peoples receive fair, transparent, and sustainable benefits that outweigh the costs of participation.

The report evaluates the voluntary carbon offsetting practices of eight major European airlines, including easyJet, Ryanair, and Lufthansa. It finds that while some airlines like easyJet have high volumes of offsets, the overall quality of credits is often low due to a reliance on cheap forestry projects in developing countries. The study highlights a significant lack of transparency in reporting and warns that promoting 'carbon neutral' flying may encourage air traffic growth, contradicting the need for sector decarbonization through sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).

The document argues that while the costs of climate action are high, the costs of inaction are higher, noting that physical climate risk has already increased the cost of capital for V20 countries by USD62bn over 10 years. It proposes a three-pillar policy framework: providing clarity on green investments via taxonomies, tilting investment toward green opportunities through de-risking and carbon pricing, and building green investment pipelines. Key mechanisms suggested include the use of junior capital by development finance institutions to mobilize private investment, the removal of fossil fuel subsidies, and the implementation of carbon border adjustment mechanisms (CBAMs). The summary concludes with a list of 101 specific policy ideas across sectors including energy, transport, and agriculture to be detailed in a full report.

The report identifies a 'carbon-pricing certainty gap' that inhibits private investment in Canada's industrial decarbonization. It proposes three primary recommendations: introducing carbon contracts for difference (CCfDs) to guarantee the carbon-price schedule, preventing carbon-credit oversupply through strengthened federal benchmarks and public registries, and offering policy-contingent loans via the Canada Infrastructure Bank. The authors suggest that a successful CCfD program could accelerate up to 40 Mt of emissions reductions by 2030 with limited contingent liabilities for the government.

The document examines how healthy soils in agriculture and natural ecosystems (forests, wetlands, and grasslands) can act as carbon sinks. It highlights regenerative agriculture practices, the importance of protecting peatlands and native prairies, and the role of Indigenous knowledge. However, it warns that soil sequestration cannot replace the need for greenhouse gas emission cuts and faces challenges such as measurement standardization and the risk of displacing food production.

The 2022 Forest Declaration Assessment finds that no global indicator is currently on track to meet the 2030 targets for stopping forest loss and restoring 350 million hectares of ecosystems. While Tropical Asia is the only region on track to stop deforestation by 2030, global forest loss still exceeds gains, resulting in a net loss of 100 million hectares. The report highlights critical gaps in sustainable production, where commodity-driven tree cover loss decreased by only 6% in 2021, and in finance, where current annual funding of $2.3 billion is less than 1% of the estimated $460 billion needed. Governance remains a significant hurdle, with at least 50% of lands held by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) lacking legal recognition. The document calls for a shift from voluntary corporate actions to mandatory regulations, a 200-fold increase in forest funding, and the strengthening of land tenure rights for IPLCs.

The 2022 Forest Declaration Assessment finds that the world is not on track to meet its 2030 forest goals. While some progress is noted in Tropical Asia, global forest loss remains high, and funding is critically insufficient, reaching less than 1% of the estimated annual requirement. The report emphasizes that voluntary corporate and government commitments have failed to shift the trajectory significantly, calling for mandatory regulations, increased direct funding for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), and stronger governance to prevent further degradation.

The Rabobank Acorn Agroforestry Carbon Programme supports smallholder farmers in Zambia, Nigeria, and Kenya in transitioning to sustainable agricultural production through a technology-enabled carbon sequestration marketplace. By utilizing Payment for Ecological Services (PES) via carbon credits, the program aims to monetize natural capital, increase food security, and create green jobs. The pilot phase is currently underway, with carbon loans already disbursed and technical training provided to farmers. The first carbon credits trading cycle is expected to take place in three years.

CaVEx is a digital marketplace using distributed ledger technology to allow small-scale climate projects to collect data, convert it into carbon credits, and sell them to buyers via mobile payments. Developed by 4R Digital with funding from FSD Africa, the platform aims to lower barriers for projects that lack the resources for traditional expert evaluation. Current development includes testing use cases in Kenya and Senegal, with a minimum viable product planned for September 2022 and long-term goals of onboarding over 50 projects and accessing over $100m in climate finance.