The Gold Standard in Sustainable Land Management

The Gold Standard in Sustainable Land Management

Ellen May ZanoriaSouth East Asia Regional Manager

Workshop on SLMAugust 29 – September 1, 2011Vientiane, Laos

What is the Gold Standard?• Non-profit foundation based in Geneva, Switzerland • The global benchmark certification scheme for high quality carbon

reduction projects in both compliance and voluntary carbon markets• Independently verified to deliver real, measurable, permanent

greenhouse gas reductions and sustainable development• The only standard to incorporate Monitoring, Reporting & Verification for

sustainable development and environmental co-benefits - for all projects• Actively supported by 75 NGOs worldwide, including WWF, Greenpeace

& Mercy Corps• Buyers include Swiss Post, Deutsche Post, DHL, Nokia, Virgin Atlantic,

H&M, TUI Travel, FIFA and multiple governments• Trusted by the United Nations as the standard for its carbon projects

• Focus on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency projects

• 100+ project types (methodologies)• 160+ project developers• 600+ projects in over 50 countries• 40m+ GS tonnes CO2e issued and

pending• Approx 40:60 ratio of compliance to

voluntary market projects

Robust carbon mitigation worldwide

Geographic location of GS projects

Gold Standard projects and offices worldwide

1 – 20 projects

21 – 100 projects

101 – 150 projects

150 + projects

GS headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland

GS global officesKEY:

Strong market recognition“The Gold Standard continues to be recognized as the flagship for demonstrating real carbon reductions plus additional sustainability

benefits.” ENDS Report 2010

• NGO category winner in Climate Change Business Journal’s Business Achievement Awards 2010

• Non-profit category runner-up in the Association for Climate Change Officers’ Climate Leadership Awards 2010 (winner is GS project developer)

• Ranked “most desirable standard for corporate buyers when purchasing carbon credits”, Carbon Management and Offsetting Trends Survey 2009

• Stockholm Environmental Institute commended Gold Standard as ‘the most fully-developed and rigorous standard in the voluntary market’ March 2008

• Gold Standard project recognition, includes two GS projects (GS685 and GS832) winning awards at the PCIA Special Achievement Awards 2011

UN projects – an inspiring use of carbon marketsUNHCR (High Commissioner for Refugees): Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya• Community focused solar energy project supporting Sudanese refugees• Solar cookers, public solar light and personal solar lanterns for students• Full documentation can be found on the GS registry – project GS924• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md-WxgHqdtQ

UN World Food Programme ‘SAFE’ Project in Darfur• WFP and the IASC are implementing SAFE (Safe Access to Firewood and

alternative Energy in Humanitarian Settings) in Darfur• WFP plans to provide and assist c.100,000 women with fuel-efficient stoves and

innovative fuel technologies in combination with alternative income opportunities, and to provide fuel-efficient stoves and equipment to 170 schools to alleviate the household burden of school meals.

• http://www.wfp.org/videos/stove-building-contest-darfur

Case study: Proyecto MiradorGS690 VER Energy EfficiencyHonduras 38,149 tCO2e/yr

This project reduces indoor air pollution by disseminating improved wood stoves called “La Justa” to the local areas around the Santa Barbara Province of Honduras. The La Justa was engineered to burn hotter and use less wood compared to a traditional fogon stove.

A field study showed that the replacement of one traditional fogon stove with one La Justa (Model 2x3) stove reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 1.9 mtCO2e/year. This project is estimated to reduce emission over 38,000 emissions annually. That is the equivalent of taking more than 12,000 tonnes of rubbish out of landfill.

Case study cont: Contribution to sustainable development• Health benefits:

• Improves air quality, • Decreases child and adult mortality• Helps prevent respiratory illnesses caused by toxic

gases • Economic Benefits:

• Reduces living costs for families • Creates local employment opportunities• Reduces time devoted to wood collection and/or

money spent on wood • Facilitates transfer of technical knowledge• The stoves require less fuel, is more convenient and has

shorter cooking times • Helps reduce the burden on limited and remaining forest

reserves

Fogon vs. La Justa

Project: Sustainable Deployment of LifeStraw® Family in rural Kenya

GS886 VER Energy EfficiencyKenya 2,073,328 tCO2e/yr

This domestic energy efficiency project is based in rural Kenya and seeks to sustainably deploy 1 million point-of-use microbial water treatment systems to 4 million people from low-income families. The system can filter up to 18,000 liters of EPA-quality drinking water, enough to supply a family of 5 with clean drinking water for 3 years.

The LifeStraw® Family decreases the use and demand for firewood to boil water, reducing the direct release of CO2 emissions. It is estimated that this project will generate more than 2 million emission reductions per year, this equates to taking 345,000 passenger vehicles off the road for one year.*

Case study cont: contribution to sustainable development

• Provides access to safe drinking water to over 4 million rural Kenyans

• Helps combat disease e.g. waterborne and/or diarrheal diseases

• Helps reduce the burden on limited natural resources such as firewood

• Reduces living costs for families • Reduces child and adult mortality • Increases productivity and reduces time spent provisioning water• Creates thousands of employment opportunities• Represents a direct investment in the public health and future of Kenya• Reduces the disconnect between funding and public health goals and offers

an economically viable alternative to unsustainable charity and aid

Why do people trust and value Gold Standard?

• Detailed, robust engagement and monitoring procedures• All projects must host and document a two-step interactive ‘Local

Stakeholder Consultation’ in both the design phase & feedback rounds• Sustainable Development Matrix including social, economic and

environmental benefits for local communities • “Do no harm” assessment - UNDP safeguarding principles derived from

international conventions for environmental, social, economic impact• Measurement, Reporting and Verification of sustainable development

indicators and other environmental co-benefits• Active engagement of independent technical experts & NGOs• UN accredited auditors, supplemented by GS in-house experts• Constant innovation in all areas e.g. appeals process

What is the role of Gold Standard in SLM?The Gold Standard is the benchmark global carbon standard,

recognized by the market, resulting to a price premium

• A quality standard helps by delivering the full benefits desired from a market mechanism– Serves as steering tool for policy

makers– Stabilises and builds markets– Attracts capital– Promotes adoption and change– Promotes linking between schemes

• Template for:• Sustainable development assessment• Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) and Monitoring• Local Stakeholder Consultation

What is the role of Gold Standard in SLM?• Methodology and process model (Less bureaucracy in approval)• Use of existing approved GS methodologies which lower use of NRB

– introduction of alternative ignition technique as measure to improve energy efficiency of domestic coal fires.– Technologies and practices to displace decentralized thermal energy consumption – efficient cook stoves, biodigesters, water

filters– Ecologically Sound Fuel Switch to Biomass with Reduced Energy Requirement– Large-Scale Supply and Distribution of Efficient Light Bulb, Showerheads and Water Saving Products to Households– Fuel switch from fossil fuels to biomass residues in boilers for heat generation

• Innovative concepts – micro-scale scheme, fast-track rule, retroactive registration, standardized baselines

• Market recognition of credibility, integrity, and robustness = reduced reputational risk for project and buyers/funders

• Strong international and local support (75 NGOs worldwide, host country authorities as partners)

The Gold Standard Foundation

[email protected]+ 65 9858 2496

www.cdmgoldstandard.org