The Paris Agreement Article 6.4 carbon market is meant to protect the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities. However, the Sustainable Development (SD) Tool meant to offer this defence is not fit for purpose, according to the findings of this joint investigation carried out by the Land Matrix Initiative and Carbon Market Watch.
A tool that aims to promote and safeguard sustainable development under the UN carbon market offers indigenous peoples and local communities little protection against projects which infringe on their land or violate their human rights. This was the disturbing finding of a joint investigation by Carbon Market Watch and the Land Matrix Initiative.
The fruits of voluntary carbon market projects are rarely shared fairly with local communities and indigenous peoples. A project in Sierra Leone has come up with a more equitable benefit sharing formula. Other countries and project developers should follow suit.
Few climate instruments are as controversial as carbon credit markets: some see them a cost-efficient way to reduce or remove emissions globally and to help the Global South in the bargain, while others see a failure to deliver sufficient climate benefits, as well as inequitable, or even seriously negative, social consequences.
Carbon Market Watch welcomes the development of the Government of Zambia’s Carbon Market Regulations as part of its Statutory Instrument. National regulation for carbon markets are indispensable to regulate existing carbon market standards and frameworks.
The body responsible for supervising the new UN carbon market mechanism must abandon the inadequate rules for social and environmental safeguards and return to the drawing board.
This submission outlines Carbon Market Watch’s recommendations to the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body, as well as a comparison of the Independent Redress Mechanism of the Green Climate Fund with the current draft appeal and grievance processes.
Human rights violations committed against the Chong people in Cambodia are indicative of a wider malaise afflicting carbon crediting projects. Not only must the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities be safeguarded, they must also profit from fair benefit sharing arrangements.
In recent years, issues with the integrity of carbon crediting have gained more attention. This includes both the quality of carbon credits and the way how carbon credits are being used.
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