Ethical carbon offsetting
Research Report
Ethical carbon offsetting: Guidelines and lessons from smallholder and community carbon projects
Ina Porras
Geoff Wells
Chris Stephenson
Paraskevas Kazis
Copyright Date: Jul. 1, 2016
Published by: International Institute for Environment and Development
Pages: 36
OPEN ACCESS
https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep02663
Table of Contents
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  1. Front Matter
    Front Matter (pp. 2-3)
  2. Table of Contents
    Table of Contents (pp. 4-5)
  3. Summary
    Summary (pp. 6-6)
  4. Glossary of terms
    Glossary of terms (pp. 7-8)
  5. Other acronyms, abbreviations and initials
    Other acronyms, abbreviations and initials (pp. 9-9)
  6. 1 Carbon offsetting
    1 Carbon offsetting (pp. 10-11)

    This section introduces this issue paper and discusses why it is a good idea to use smallholder and community projects to deliver climate resilience and adaptation strategies.

    Climate change is one of the most pressing problems of the 21st century. Climate change is a natural phenomenon that happens when the atmosphere warms up. However, the speed at which the atmosphere is heating has been accelerated by high levels of man-made pollutants – known as greenhouse gases (GHG). This is having major impacts, such as changes in local temperatures and precipitation patterns and rising ocean levels. A recent review commissioned by...

  7. 2 Carbon within agroforestry systems
    2 Carbon within agroforestry systems (pp. 12-19)

    This section explains the process by which a carbon offset is created – the science of the process, the link to activities on the farm, and how these offsets enter the market.

    Smallholder and community land-based projects are good vehicles for mitigating climate change and generating local benefits, such as jobs, food security, access to sustainable energy sources and better health. Practices that combine agricultural crops and animal husbandry with trees can help tackle multiple dimensions of poverty, providing short- and long-term benefits such as food and timber. By improving the natural base, these activities improve resilience to climate change....

  8. 3 Viable businesses
    3 Viable businesses (pp. 20-28)

    This section presents the current state of voluntary carbon markets in smallholder projects and discusses how PES can contribute to sustainable smallholder agriculture.

    A recent project by IIED and HIVOS assessed the potential of PES, and specifically carbon offsets, to contribute to sustainable smallholder agriculture. The study looked at ongoing projects in different countries (Nicaragua, Guatemala, Peru, Kenya and Indonesia), at different scales (local and national), with farmers engaged in a variety of production activities (biogas, coffee and timber as well as subsistence agriculture), and using different certification bodies to sell carbon offsets (Gold Standard, Plan Vivo and Cambio2).

    Working...

  9. 4 Key messages
    4 Key messages (pp. 29-31)

    Sustainable smallholder agriculture generates benefits for farmers and society, such as food, energy, carbon sequestration, and the protection of water quality and habitats for biodiversity. Experience shows that smallholder projects using payments for ecosystem services (PES) are better placed to succeed if they improve productivity on the farm, and if transaction costs from linking farmers to buyers are manageable (Porras et al. 2015b). Clear project design and monitoring are essential to generate legitimacy and credibility for all stakeholders involved. Tools like SHAMBA, value-chain mapping and business models help to map out the dynamics of product flows associated with the ecosystems,...

  10. References
    References (pp. 32-35)
  11. Back Matter
    Back Matter (pp. 36-36)