?? Let's celebrate International Women's Day

Today is International Women's Day –?a chance for us to celebrate and support the inspiring women working at the forefront of climate action. This year, the theme of the day is #InspireInclusion, focusing on diversity and empowerment.

Diversity and empowerment are key components of successful environmental action yet women are shockingly underrepresented at climate decision-making tables. SHE Changes Climate, the advocacy movement, points out that only five women have served as COP President in the last 29 years.

But women and girls are disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis (read more here). To create the most effective climate solutions, the world needs to hear from those women on the frontline whose voices and perspectives are not yet included with prominence. Keep reading for more.

International Women's Day: Tatu's story

Tatu Amani Mwita owns a small restaurant in Kapanga Village, Tanzania. Together with her six employees, Tatu cooks, serves customers and manages her enterprise. But business has not always been so bustling. When Tatu first opened her doors in 2015, she lacked kitchen equipment and the capacity to employ staff. Tatu needed an injection of cash to help scale her business, but historically, women in Tanzania could not receive?bank loans.

One of our long-term partners, Carbon Tanzania, started its Ntakata Mountain forest conservation project in 2016. Now, committed to returning revenue from carbon credit sales to local people, Carbon Tanzania supports Community Conservation Banks (cocobas) with carbon finance. Cocobas offer people loans to start businesses and crucially, these loans are available to men and?women.

Tatu successfully applied for a cocoba loan, with which she bought much-needed equipment and expanded her restaurant. "I currently have six employees working for me," Tatu said. She feels confident that when she is ready to retire, her restaurant business will continue in the capable hands of her children.

Tatu is not alone. In?2023, 189 women started businesses with cocoba loans supported by carbon finance from Carbon Tanzania's Ntakata Mountain project.

Newsflash

• In honour of International Women's Day, let's start the Newsflash with an article by Roselyn Fosuah Adjei for?Project Syndicate. Working for Ghana’s Forestry Commission, she discusses how the country is ready to support the Global North with high-quality carbon credits but that the forest conservation program brings benefits beyond emission reduction.
• To hear another female voice, check out Environmental Finance's interview with Angela Schwarz of Anew Climate. She is confident the VCM is entering a new era.?
• It's been two weeks of milestones. First, QCI reports that Bain & Co made the first VCMI Integrity Claim.
• Next, an announcement from The Government of Guyana:?it is issuing the world’s first carbon credits eligible for Corsia. 7.14 million credits have been issued by ART. Reuters also covers the news.
• The Guardian reports on the EU’s new nature restoration law, which has passed in the face of farmer protests and right-wing opposition.
• And Carbon Brief explores what this new EU law means for nature and biodiversity.
• Verra urges IOSCO to recognise that working with the VCM requires specialist environmental knowledge, beyond that which is traditionally held by financial regulators.?
• The Independent covers the Forest 500 report, stating that the companies and financial institutions with the power to halt tropical deforestation are actually failing to do so.
• N4C shares the results of its new survey, revealing avoided deforestation, agroforestry and reforestation were identified as the leading NbS investment opportunities for 2024.
• Carbon Pulse interviews Puro.Earth about its intention to apply for CORSIA eligibility.
• Reuters writes that high-integrity carbon credits are essential for restoring faith in the VCM.
• Finally, to turn our attention to natural climate solutions, Mongabay discusses the ideal principles for working with nature for climate mitigation and the?World Economic Forum highlights how natural climate solutions can change lives.

Don't miss these reports

Science-based Targets Initiative releases two new reports on BVCM

What's new??SBTi has published two complementary reports to support beyond value chain mitigation (BVCM). The first focuses on design and implementation, while the second addresses the acceleration of corporate adoption. Download here.

Hold on, what is BVCM? The SBTI states that BVCM is a way companies can 'accelerate the global net-zero transformation by going above and beyond their science-based targets.' This means investing in emission reduction outside of their value chain.

What's in the first report? As the longer of the two, these 134 pages cover the business case for companies to adopt BVCM. It suggests the steps to making a BVCM pledge. It also includes examples of how companies in different sectors might implement BVCM in accordance with the report's recommendations.

And in the second one??The second reports considers the different barriers and incentives that prevent and enable companies to mitigate beyond their value chains.

Are companies required to do BVCM? No, mitigating beyond a company's own value chain is voluntary and the SBTi does not have plans to validate such efforts. However, the VCMI might validate BVCM in the future.

What's the consensus? While QCI says that the SBTi BVCM reports have been broadly welcomed, David Antonioli wrote an article on LinkedIn to argue that BVCM should be considered ‘more than a bonus point’. Similarly, Bloomberg questions whether simply presenting the option for corporates to take voluntary climate action is enough incentive.

Oxford principles for net-zero aligned carbon offsetting revised for 2024

The 2024 revisions to the 2020 Oxford principles call for a ‘course correct’ for the VCM, stating that ‘current approaches are unlikely to to deliver the level of emissions reduction needed to achieve global climate goals.’

Many media headlines presented the revisions as advocating for removal credits in preference to avoidance. But this reading is too simplistic –?the principles continue to recognise the value of nature-based solutions. The third revision is to highlight further evidence showing that NbSs are critical for addressing the climate crisis.

News from the field

Carbon Tanzania's Ntakata Mountains project sends carbon finance to schools

Carbon Tanzania shares positive impacts from the Ntakata Mountains project. Since carbon revenue has been used to buy school equipment, children don’t have to sit on the ground. One father reports his children now return home ‘as clean as marble’.

Delta Blue Carbon collaborates with a university in Sindh

Delta Blue Carbon, the world's blue carbon project, has signed an MoU with Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam to solidify their collaboration on socio-economic development in Karachi. Delta Blue Carbon is restoring 350,000 hectares of mangrove forest in Pakistan.

Gold Standard lists BURN's electric cooking project

Carbon Herald reports that Gold Standard has listed BURN's electric cooking project. BURN manufactures and distributes cookstoves throughout Africa to replace wood fuel from people's lifestyles. This is particularly positive for women, who tend to do the most wood gathering and cooking.

Respira's News

CEO Ana Haurie gives evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee

The Environmental Audit Committee called on leading experts from the voluntary carbon market to give evidence during its inquiry into the role of natural capital in the green economy. Our CEO, Ana Haurie, made the case that 81 percent of companies don’t yet have a net zero target or pathway. Therefore, rather than focusing on the companies who use carbon credits – who are actually taking environmental action – we should focus on the 81 percent who are currently doing nothing.

Dates for the diary

• Join Environmental Finance in London on the 12th of March for Natural Capital Investment EMEA 2024.
• Both in-person and online, Chatham House is hosting Energy Transitions 2024 on the 12th and 13th of March.
• Next week is busy. On the 13th and 14th of March, you can join the Financial Times for Climate Capital Live in London.
• And finally, here's a webinar recommendation for the 19th of March. At 7 pm GMT, GreenBiz addresses how corporates should navigate opportunities and liabilities in the VCM in 2024.

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Respira International is an impact-driven carbon finance business. Respira’s high-quality carbon credits allow corporations and financial institutions to mitigate their environmental impact. Respira channels private capital into climate solutions ensuring long-term relationships with trusted carbon project developers that enable its clients to use predominantly nature-based solutions to build sustainable, climate-positive businesses and portfolios. Respira’s team combines deep and varied experience working in global financial markets with a robust understanding of carbon project development in leading international conservation organisations. Respira operates with an innovative offtake and profit share model which reinvests back into local communities.