As the main market for carbon credits is in Europe, it is a big advantage to have a focal point within Europe. Therefore, FairClimateFund is happy to announce that, with support from Hivos, the Biogas Consortium signed a partnership agreement with us. With this partnership, Hivos withdraws from the international carbon credit market and we will market and sell carbon credits on behalf of the three organizations during the next three years. We will also provide technical assistance to deal with changing regulations in the dynamic environment of climate change policies and increase visibility in the international carbon market and carbon or climate funds.

Carbon finance programs

Since 2011, Hivos has used carbon finance to support rural households, who are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, to access technologies that improve livelihoods and mitigate climate change. Hivos sold carbon credits to voluntary buyers – individuals and companies looking for ways to compensate their CO₂ emissions – who are willing to pay prices that include a contribution to sustainable development. Since 2014 the main focus has been on biodigesters, which provide a sustainable way to reduce dependence on firewood and expensive fossil fuels for cooking. Biogas is a clean cooking fuel and the second product, bio slurry, is a very good organic fertilizer that increases productivity of crops. Since women are often disadvantaged compared to men and boys, especially in developing countries, there is a strong focus on benefitting women in the biogas projects.

The carbon emission reductions resulting from the use of biodigesters are certified by the Gold Standard. Revenue from sales of the carbon credits is used to make purchasing biogas digesters affordable and to subsidize program activities such as aftersales services, quality management and training of staff and end-users.

Thanks to the various biogas programs, 89,500 biodigesters have been installed. YRE, BSUL and ABPL were key implementing partners and are now taking over Hivos’ work.

About FairClimateFund

FairClimateFund is a social enterprise owned by Cordaid, an internationally operating value-based emergency relief and development organization. We want to demonstrate that the carbon market can benefit people and communities most vulnerable to the effects of climate change in a fair and effective way. Those with the largest carbon footprint invest in carbon reduction projects with high social impact.

Our projects are Gold Standard and/or Fairtrade certified. We sell these carbon credits at a fair price to private individuals and companies in Western countries that want to offset the CO₂ emissions that they cannot (yet) reduce.