FAQ

About Climate Investment Partners

Climate Investment Partners is a led by a dedicated team with over 50 years of experience and we are committed to developing the highest quality, nature-based solutions projects that are financed through the issuance of carbon offset credits.
Climate Investment Partners conducts due diligence on projects, then helps to design, implement, manage and monitor such projects to the benefit of local communities, local landowners, other stakeholders, investors, and our global community.

Climate Investment Partners works with dedicated in-country teams and local communities to help mitigate climate change, preserve and/or restore biodiversity, and directly benefit host communities. Our partners include:

Carbon Offsets and Projects

A carbon offset is a certificate issued for each metric tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions that is either reduced or mitigated as a result of the implementation of a carbon project which is independently validated and verified by an auditor against third-party certification standards. Carbon offsets are also known by several other names such as carbon credits, carbon offset credits, Verified Emission Reductions / Removals (VERs), Verified Carbon Units (VCUs; issued under the Verified Carbon Standard); Climate Reserve Tonnes (CRTs; issued under the Climate Action Reserve); and GSVERs (Gold Standard Verified Emission Reductions; issued under the Gold Standard).

There is a wide variety of carbon projects. For example, Climate Investment Partners specializes in nature-based solutions projects. This includes afforestation and reforestation projects in Nicaragua, Panama, Brazil, Paraguay, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, and Cameroon. In addition, nature-based solutions projects also include blue carbon, such as Climate Investment Partners’ mangrove restoration project in Indonesia, along with our avoided deforestation projects in Brazil, Indonesia, and Paraguay.

In addition to Climate Investment Partners’ nature-based solutions projects, other carbon projects include:

  • Household devices and water purification projects, such as clean cookstoves which reduce the amount of charcoal or fuelwood needed to cook and purify water, while reducing indoor air pollution;
  • Grid-connected and off-grid renewable energy installations including rural electrification projects, roof-top solar installations, and wind farms;
  • Direct air capture technologies, which are technology-based applications that sequester carbon dioxide emissions; and

    Landfill-gas-to-energy projects, which harvest methane from landfills to heat onsite facilities and electrify the neighborhood.

Additionality is a series of tests that all carbon reduction projects must meet to ensure the project would not have been implemented without revenue from the carbon markets. Additionality is an important requirement because if non-additional (i.e., “business-as-usual”) projects were eligible for carbon finance, then the net amount of greenhouse gas emissions would continue to increase and the environmental integrity of carbon reduction projects would be called into question.

All carbon projects must account for leakage. Leakage, defined as the offsite impacts attributable to a project, can be classified as market leakage, activity-shifting leakage, or ecological leakage.
Activity-shifting leakage is related to the displacement of activities that cause deforestation or degradation of lands outside the project area. For instance, if local communities do not benefit from a project and choose to move elsewhere, then the associated deforestation would need to be accounted for by the project.
Market leakage occurs when project activities result in reductions in wood harvest (i.e., for timber, fuelwood and/or charcoal) and when such harvesting is likely to shift to some other area as a result of the project. For instance, if a large avoided deforestation project took place and conserved valuable commercial hardwood trees, which led to the regional value of such hardwood species increasing and this led to the harvesting of such hardwood species somewhere other than the project, then the project would need to account for this market leakage.
Ecological leakage occurs in wetland restoration and conservation (WRC) projects when project activities, such as canal blocking, inadvertently causes emissions outside the project area. For example, it is possible that unintended flooding of an adjacent property could cause an increase in methane (CH4) emissions.

All nature-based solutions projects must demonstrate permanence. Greenhouse gas emissions that are either mitigated or removed, but which could be reversed as a result of future deforestation, fires, disease or pest outbreaks, etc., must demonstrate a compensation plan.
For instance, the Verified Carbon Standard requires Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU) projects to use a Non-Permanence Risk Tool. This tool assesses a project’s specific external, internal, and natural risks and then a corresponding percentage of carbon offsets are withheld from issuance and instead are deposited into a global buffer to act as a sort of insurance against the potential reversal of project’s carbon stocks.

Carbon Markets and Standards

The voluntary carbon market is characterized by carbon projects that are voluntarily undertaken and which issue carbon offset credits that are later voluntarily purchased by individuals and companies that are under no legal obligation to purchase such offsets. Leading voluntary buyers include:

  • Delta;
  • Disney; and
  • Microsoft.

In contrast, the compliance carbon market is when companies within a jurisdiction are legally required to reduce their emissions and such companies may have a series of options to comply including:

  • Making investments to reduce their internal greenhouse gas emissions;
  • Paying the associated carbon tax, fees and/or penalties;
  • Purchasing government auctioned permits; and/or
  • Supporting eligible carbon offset projects.

There are several leading carbon certification standards, each of which have developed project-specific methodologies. The most widely used and recognized carbon standards, and the ones used by Climate Investment Partners, are:

For example, Climate Investment Partners’ Forest Landscape Restoration in Panama Project is being designed and developed under the Climate Action Reserve, while Climate Investment Partners’ Uganda Native Reforestation and Agroforestry Project is being designed and developed under the Gold Standard.

Climate Investment Partners’ Verified Carbon Standard projects – such as Envira Amazonia Project and the Native Restoration of Ecosystems in Nicaragua Project – are also being developed under the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards (CCBS), which is a co-benefit standard to demonstrate a project’s commitment to incorporating community and biodiversity aspects in the project’s design and implementation.

By supporting projects that are independently validated and verified against leading third-party certification standards, carbon offset buyers can be assured that the projects not only comply with rigorous standards and methodologies, but also that the carbon offsets meet the hallmark quality standards of being:

  • Real;
  • Additional;
  • Permanent;
  • Measurable (verifiable); and
  • Transparent.

Other carbon certification standards include:

To learn more about the highest rated certification standards, visit the International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA).

A methodology, sometimes also referred to as a protocol, is a validated and verified approach to documenting some of the technical aspects of a project such as the carbon accounting framework, additionality, and leakage. Climate Investment Partners uses a range of methodologies such as:

In sum, a methodology or protocol is sort of like a blueprint for designing and implementing carbon projects.

Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) is “the first global market-based measure for any sector and represents a cooperative approach that moves away from a ‘patchwork’ of national or regional regulatory initiatives. It offers a harmonized way to reduce emissions from international aviation, minimizing market distortion, while respecting the special circumstances and respective capabilities of ICAO {the International Civil Aviation Organization} Member States.” (CORSIA’s official webpage)

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) is “a non-profit, independent governance body that aims to set and maintain a global standard for high integrity in the voluntary carbon market, unlocking private climate and carbon finance that would not otherwise be deployed.

It was set up in 2021 in response to the final recommendations of the Taskforce on Scaling the Voluntary Carbon Markets (TSVCM), an initiative backed by more than 250 organisations.” (ICVCM’s official webpage)

Nature-Based Solutions (NBS)

Nature-based solutions (NBS) involve actions that protect, manage, and restore natural ecosystems, while also supporting social development goals and biodiversity conservation. Climate Investment Partners’ initiatives include reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+), climate-smart forestry, regenerative agriculture, and the restoration of wetlands and coastal habitat.

To learn more, visit here.

All of Climate Investment Partners’ projects, in addition to reducing or mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, strive to produce co-benefits. Co-benefits are usually categorized as community co-benefits and biodiversity or environmental co-benefits. To date, Climate Investment Partners’ projects have helped to produce co-benefits, such as:

Community co-benefits:

  • Building health clinics and local pharmacies;
  • Hiring agronomists to teach sustainable agriculture;
  • Facilitating dentists, nurses, and doctor visits;
  • Granting land tenure to strengthen local communities’ land rights;
  • Sharing carbon revenues with local communities;
  • Developing local economies; and
  • Generating local employment opportunities.

Biodiversity or environmental co-benefits:

  • Protecting terrestrial habitats;
  • Maintaining and/or expanding wildlife corridors;
  • Minimizing hunting pressures and monitoring for illegal poaching;
  • Restoring local water cycles; and
  • Developing local fish nurseries, via the reintroduction of mangrove forests, which later populate offshore coral reef systems.

A carbon reduction occurs when a carbon project reduces or removes greenhouse gases that were previously emitted to the atmosphere.  For example, Climate Investment Partners’ reforestation projects – including the Community Restoration of Native Ecosystems in Ghana Project and the Native Ecosystem Restoration in Nicaragua Project – sequester carbon dioxide emissions that were previously emitted as the newly planted seedlings and saplings grow into a mature forest.  Similarly, Climate Investment Partners’ Entooma Sidai Project is working to improve grazing management practices near the iconic Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya to help sequester more carbon dioxide emissions into the region’s grasses and soils.  

In contrast, carbon mitigation occurs when a carbon project mitigates or avoids the release of additional greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.  For example, Climate Investment Partners’ Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) projects – including the Envira Amazonia Project -work with local communities and landowners to benefit local communities, to preserve the area’s rich biodiversity, and to reduce the deforestation of tropical rainforests and the associated greenhouse gas emissions.

Project Development Process

The following are the general steps taken from initial project idea through project implementation and ending with the issuance of carbon offsets.  This process is similar whether the project is being designed and implemented against a compliance carbon standard or against a voluntary carbon standard.  Similarly, this process is relatively the same whether you are developing a nature-based solutions project (i.e., reforestation, grassland management or avoided deforestation project), or another eligible carbon project such as a renewable energy project.  

  1. Due Diligence and Assessment of Project Potential

Similar to any other type of project, it is very important to undertake an initial assessment of the project potential and conduct sufficient due diligence.  Some aspects of the due diligence and assessment for forest carbon projects include:

  • Review of stakeholders and evaluation of potential partners; 
  • Hold initial meetings with stakeholders and potential partners;
  • Conduct financial calculations; 
  • Risk assessment, legal analysis, and potentially drafting of contracts;
  • Analysis of landownership titles and carbon ownership; and
  • Review of safety issues. 

Two of the more important aspects of tropical forestry carbon projects involves the analysis of landownership titles to ensure no overlapping title claims and to ensure clear carbon ownership is, or can be, granted. 

  1. Selection of Certification Standard and Methodology

All compliance forest carbon projects and more than 99% of voluntary forest carbon projects are designed and audited against third-party certification standards. 

A methodology, also known as a protocol, is essentially the blueprint for how various parameters of a project are calculated and/or determined.  This includes guidance on how to design the forest carbon inventory, how to determine the project’s start date and longevity, and how to develop a deforestation baseline.  Each carbon certification standard – whether it is a compliance or voluntary carbon certification standard – will have a wide-variety of approved methodologies for use under the given standard.  This includes methodologies such as for livestock methane projects, tropical forest conservation projects, and improved forestry management projects. 

  1. Selection of Independent Auditor

The next step with carbon projects is to choose an independent auditor, which are also known as validation / verification bodies (VVB).  The auditors are subject matter experts.  For example, forest carbon projects are often audited by professional foresters, agriculturalists, or community development experts.  In contrast, renewable energy or energy efficiency carbon projects are often audited by trained engineers.  

Auditors are often accredited under the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), which is the US representative of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).  Auditors then must be accepted by the carbon certification standard.  This acceptance is based off an application process and possibly includes a more rigorous training specific to the given certification standard.  In addition, many auditors are accepted across several carbon certification standards.  

  1. Implementation of Project Activities 

After a forest carbon project has passed due diligence, chosen a certification standard and a methodology or protocol, and lined up an independent auditor, it is then time to start implementing the on-the-ground activities.  

For an afforestation or reforestation carbon project, this would include:

  • Conducting a carbon sequestration / forest growth curve analysis;
  • Choosing the composition of tree species to be planted;
  • Identifying a source of such seeds or saplings; alternatively, a tree nursery could be established. and then;
  • Site prep and planting the seeds or saplings at the project site.

 

For REDD+ forest conservation projects, the on-the-ground activities would include: 

  • Designing and implementing a forest carbon inventory to determine a statistically significant quantification of the project area’s biomass and carbon stock;
  • Developing or utilizing a computer model to forecast future deforestation and to establish a deforestation baseline; and
  • Starting to implement the specific activities which will help reduce and stop deforestation at the project site.  This might include the landowner foregoing conversion of the forest to another land use, offering agricultural extension training courses, developing alternative revenue and income activities for local communities, etc. 
  1. Write Initial Project Documents

While the project activities are being implemented, it is a wise idea to start writing the initial set of project documents.  These project documents, particularly for the VCS and CCBS, are comprehensive and require an elaboration on various aspects of the project including:

  • Background information on the project and Project Proponents;
  • Incorporation of the technical measurements derived from the chosen methodology;
  • Maps of the project location and project activities;
  • Discussion of all relevant laws and regulations; and
  • Risk assessment of the project.

 

Many of the carbon certification standards offer templates for developing these project documents.  

  1. Register / List Project; Undertake Validation Audit

The Project, upon completion of the draft project documents and after a sufficient amount of project activities are implemented on the ground, will register or list with an approved registry.  A registry for carbon projects is somewhat comparable to an online bank account in the sense that you have a username and password and upon logging in, you can view your current holdings and then either receive a transfer or initiate a transfer of VERs from your account to another account holder. 

Most of the carbon certification standards use one specific registry.  For example, the American Carbon Registry (as a voluntary carbon certification standard) uses its own registry, while Verra (the parent association of the VCS) uses the Verra Registry.

The validation audit is often conducted by the previously secured auditor.  The validation audit involves the auditor reading through the initial project documents, checking all calculations, interviewing the Project Proponents and other relevant stakeholders, and visiting the project site.

Upon successful completion of the validation audit, the auditor will issue a validation report and validation statement.  These documents essentially confirm that, in the auditor’s professional opinion, the project has been designed and thus far implemented in accordance with the carbon certification standard.

  1. Conduct Periodic Monitoring, Reporting and Verification with Issuance of Carbon Offset Credits 

The project, after achieving validation, would continue to implement the on-the-ground project activities and periodically conduct monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV).

Monitoring involves the monitoring or measurement of certain metrics associated with the project.  For a REDD+ project, this mostly involves monitoring deforestation relative to the established baseline, along with monitoring the project’s impact on local communities and biodiversity within the project zone.

Reporting involves the preparation of another set of project documents.  Whereas the initial set of project documents are more of a forward-looking management plan, this next set of project documents are prepared for a specific, historical time period – usually the previous calendar year.

Verification involves another audit, known as the verification audit.  Depending on the rules of the carbon certification standard, this audit can be performed by the same auditor or a different auditor and involves a similar process of the auditor reading through the new project documents, checking all new calculations derived from the monitoring, (re)interviewing the Project Proponents and other relevant stakeholders, and (re)visiting the project site.

Upon successful completion of the verification audit, the auditor will issue a verification report and verification statement.  These documents confirm that, in the auditor’s professional opinion, the project has mitigated or sequestered a specific quantity of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (CO2e), in addition to any community and biodiversity benefits.  The Project Proponents would then deliver the project documents and auditor reports to the registry and the registry will issue the specific quantity of offsets – each with a distinct serial number – into the Project Proponent’s registry account.

  1. Sales

Sales should not be left to the very end, but a common structure in the forest carbon market is for buyers to only purchase offsets after the Project Proponents have successfully completed the verification audit and are ready to transfer the issued VERs. 

Certification and Methodologies

Climate Investment Partners is a Certified B Corporation!  

A B Corp, or Benefit Corporation, is a type of business that meets high standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.

To learn more, visit here.

Where do I go to learn more?

Contact the team at Climate Investment Partners!

In addition, here are several useful resources to learn more about carbon finance, carbon markets, carbon projects, and climate change: