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Climate change presents investors and companies with opportunities to lead. In this section we touch upon some solutions from forward-looking investors and entrepreneurs that promote clean energy, resilience and a low-carbon economy.
Launch of the Global GHG Accounting and Reporting Standard for the Financial Industry
virtual launch, 18 November 2020 The Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) will launch the first ever global Standard to measure and report financed emissions. More info: Carbon Accounting Financials
Climate Adaptation Summit
Netherlands, 25 January 2021 The world urgently needs to enhance its ambitions and take bold action to tackle the climate emergency. Recognising this, the Netherlands government will host an online international Climate Adaptation Summit (CAS Online) on 25 January 2021. More info: Climate Adaptation Summit
Sustainable fisheries suffering from COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted global seafood supply chains and threatened the viability of SMEs in the sector. These businesses are the main source of livelihoods for many of the most vulnerable local community members in the developing tropics. Before the pandemic, small scale fisheries were already in crisis as 90% of global fish stocks are considered fully fished or overfished.
The Meloy Fund for Sustainable Community Fisheries is an impact investment fund that incentivizes the development and adoption of sustainable fisheries. It makes debt and equity investments in fishing-related enterprises that support the recovery of coastal fisheries in Indonesia and the Philippines.
But with the buying stopped and supply chains disrupted, small-scale fishers have lost their main source of income and struggle to purchase the essential goods needed to sustain their families. To help those fishers directly impacted by this health crisis, Meloy has assembled a package to provide short-term relief.
“As an impact fund, we have both the privilege and obligation to reach out to the thousands of small-scale fishers and farmers in our networks and impacted by the global pandemic. With FMO’s support, we’re able to expand that reach and provide critical support to local fishers so that they can continue to safely provide for their families and keep food supplies flowing through local and international markets”, says Dale Gavin, Founder and Managing Partner of Meloy Fund.
More info: meloyfund
Boosting biodiversity conservation in sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa’s immensely rich animal, plant, and marine biodiversity not only provides critical ecosystem services, and also drives the continent’s economy. But this is being threatened by a combination of factors, such as deforestation and climate change. The eco.business Fund aims to promote business and consumption practices that contribute to biodiversity conservation, to the sustainable use of natural resources, and to mitigate climate change and adapt to its impacts.
By providing financing for business practices that conserve nature and foster biodiversity, the eco.business fund seeks investments with both environmental and financial returns. It supports sustainable operations in agriculture, fishery (including aquaculture), forestry and tourism. Target beneficiaries are companies and financial intermediairies that hold an eligible sustainability certification or those taking out a loan to make eligible sustainable investments in their operations. eco.business fund also provides high-impact technical assistance to support its investees in integrating sustainability in their operations. More info: eco.business fund
Countdown to a better future
Countdown is a global initiative to champion and accelerate solutions to the climate crisis, turning ideas into action. During the launch of this inititiave, Johan Rockström gave a TedTalk about the 10 years we have to transform the future of humanity.
"For the first time, we are forced to consider the real risk of destabilizing the entire planet," says climate impact scholar Johan Rockström. In a talk backed by vivid animations of the climate crisis, he shows how nine out of the 15 big biophysical systems that regulate the climate -- from the permafrost of Siberia to the great forests of the North to the Amazon rainforest -- are at risk of reaching tipping points, which could make Earth uninhabitable for humanity. Hear his plan for putting the planet back on the path of sustainability over the next 10 years -- and protecting the future of our children. Watch here the Tedtalk of Johan Rockström More info: Countdown
FMO opens consultation on next step in Climate Action commitment
In our strategy, climate action has been identified as one of the three top-line Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to which we can particularly contribute. As a next step in our commitment, we have opened a consultation on our draft Position Statement on phasing out fossil fuels in our direct investments. This Position Statement sets out our firm commitment to phase out fossil fuels in direct investments from our portfolio. We will stop making direct investments in fossil fuel powered energy, and only conditionally allow for new direct investments in gas-based power generation and distributed energy under restrictive transition conditions. The statement considers environmental impacts as well as the need for access to energy in the regions where renewable energy cannot meet the energy demand. More info: FMO news
“Komaza has already planted with more than 25,000 partner farmers.”
Trees for life
Many smallholder farmers in Africa leave large parts of their land untouched, and only plant what they need to survive. Komaza offers these farmers the option to plant fast growing trees, like eucalyptus and melia (a native, drought resistant species) on their untapped parts of land. This provides farmers with the opportunity to generate additional income over a longer period of time. Komaza and its partner farmers plant woodlots that are managed collectively as a “virtual plantation.” Farmers contribute land and labour and are paid a fair price for harvested trees. Komaza provides them with training and the support across the entire value chain, from supplying seedlings and other planting inputs to establish tree farms, during the lifetime of the trees and ultimately the company harvests and processes the wood to local markets. Komaza has already planted with more than 25,000 partner farmers. The first plots that were planted are starting to generate their first income for Komaza’s partner farmers. In addition to supporting smallholder farmers, Komaza aims to plant 2,500 hectares per year in its greenfield operations and plant 3 trees for each tree cut down in its brownfield operations, yielding significant carbon sequestration.
More info: Komaza
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