Sustainable Finance For Nature-based Solutions Digital Forum
On March 2022, the Luxembourg-GLF Finance for Nature platform hosted the Sustainable finance for NbS Digital Forum with the aim of bringing together practitioners, policymakers, and scientists to explore opportunities for NbS investments emerging from recent developments in carbon finance and sustainable finance regulations, as well as build dialogue to increase the adoption of good practices, and inform policy processes in this arena.
In this short Q&A, social entrepreneur and agroforestry researcher, Paul Burgers helps answer the foundational question of how businesses can help local communities adapt to climate change, build resilient livelihoods and improve their quality of life.
Markets are critical to protecting nature and the planet
Based on his social enterprise experience, Burgers explains how carbon finance is helping climate-proof the rural poor in the Global South:
- CO2 Operate B.V., Burgers’ social enterprise works with carbon market certification for local communities in Indonesia. It combines carbon sequestration targets with sustainable sourcing. As an example, they have integrated cinnamon trees into one of their sites for a spice trading company.
- The idea of “living wages” must be rethought into something that really works for people. Increasing the wages of workers in less affluent countries could improve social and environmental sustainability.
- CO2 Operative has learned that working with farmers is pivotal to the achievement of carbon finance by not looking for a maximum profit of the land but a stable one. “Listen to the farmers first,” Burgers says.
Learn How carbon markets supercharge nature-based solutions to climate change 📈
