Nexus Newsletter - May 2012

Nexus-Carbon for Development

Newsletter|May 2012

In this issue

  • Updates from members: Nexus welcomed four new members, updates from Hydrologic, VERC, Global Environmental Institute, GERES and TerraClear
  • Launch of Nexus-beyond offsetting, the direct partnership platform engaging companies on a fair approach to offsetting
  • Events
  • Announcement
  • New Publications

Editorial

Times are interesting for carbon markets. While the CDM is being reviewed, demand on the voluntary carbon markets is shifting towards projects that demonstrate ‘co-benefits’. ‘Pro-poor projects’ are high on the agenda, together with a renewed interest on sustainable development goals. But how do you assess if a project is pro-poor? This question was examined during a workshop organized by Nexus in Bangkok on 11 May. Nexus recently launched its partnership platform, offering an opportunity for companies to directly support projects that target poor populations. With two projects close to validation and four new members approved during 2012 General Assembly, our members show their willingness to pursue our unique cooperative approach and directly engage companies on a fair approach to offsetting. Nexus will continue promoting members’ work in business events such as Carbon Expo and B4E. At the same time, we will follow closely climate funding mechanisms, starting with our involvement as an observer to the Climate Investment Funds. Will climate funding deliver adaptation, emissions reductions, and opportunities for the poorest to embrace clean development paths?

I wish you a pleasant reading
Marion Santini for Nexus-Carbon for Development

Updates from members

Nexus welcomes four new members during its annual General Assembly
On May 9 and 10, 2012, Nexus members gathered in Bangkok to examine the past year achievements and discuss future directions and strategies. Four new memberships were endorsed.

altAgronomes et Vétérinaires Sans Frontières (AVSF) gives support to peasant families in Southern countries for developing their agricultural and livestock activities. AVSF is active in 18 countries, including Cambodia and Vietnam, and has several biogas digesters projects. More information on AVSF’s website here.

altThe Biogas Program Biogas for the Animal Husbandry Sector of Vietnam was launched in 2003 by the Biogas Project Division under the Department of Livestock and Production, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam, in cooperation with SNV, an international development organization established in the Netherlands and financed by the Netherlands government. More information on the Biogas Program’s website here.

altThe Eco-Watch Institute (EWI) is a nonprofit organization registered in China. Its aim is to undertake activities on energy, environment and ecology issues in China’s rural pro-poor areas to help the poor increase their income and improve the quality of environment and agricultural ecology system, and ultimately realize sustainable socio-economic development in rural areas. EWI works on a project that aims to reactivate dysfunctional domestic biogas digesters.

altSamuchit Enviro-Tech is a Private Limited Company, registered in India. Its vision is to create and efficiently manage supply chains providing environmentally sustainable energy and waste management solutions to rural and semi‐urban households and organizations in India and other developing countries. More information on Samuchit’s website here.

During the General Assembly, a number of decisions were taken to increase the level of transparency and effectiveness of the alliance, including the nomination of one additional external director to the Board: Jasmine Hyman, PhD student from Yale University, and previously advisor to Nexus. Chongying Chen from Global Environmental Institute and Russell deLucia from S3IDF joined the Board as internal directors, replacing Christina Aristanti from YDD and Chantheang Tong from CEDAC.

iDE/Hydrologic winner of 2012 Ashden Award

alt
The NGO iDE and its for-profit subsidiary Hydrologic Social Enterprise won the 2012 Ashen Award, the world’s leading green energy prize, thanks to its ceramic water purifier project. The project brings impressive benefits in ensuring access to drinking water, reducing deforestation, improving health and boosting rural population economies. The Ashden Awards were founded in 2001 to encourage the greater use of local sustainable energy to address climate change and alleviate poverty.

altaltHydrologic and BPD projects submitted to the Gold Standard for registration
Hydrologic Ceramic Water Filter project and the Biogas Program for the Animal Husbandry Sector of Vietnam are being submitted to the Gold Standard for registration. After a review process, the projects will be officially validated and registered in the Gold Standard registry.

VERC shares its improved cookstove experience during ESMAP eventalt
The Energy Sector Management Assistance Program held a training session at the World Bank on March 1, 2012. Anowar Hossain Mollah, project coordinator for Bangladesh’s Village Education Source Center (VERC), showcased his organization’s cookstove approach which successfully scaled up the use of improved cookstoves through both supply and demand interventions. More information here.

altGlobal Environmental Institute contributes to China Sustainable Development Report 2012
GEI contributed on a chapter entitled “China’s ‘Going Global’ Strategy, and Chinese Corporate Environmental and Social Responsibility Overseas” of China Sustainable Development Report 2012. More information here.

altGERES joins Global Lighting and Energy Access Partnership
GERES joined the Global Lighting and Energy Access Partnership, a voluntary forum that has been launched in the context of the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All. It aims to share knowledge and best practices between various actors including governments, development partners and the private sector. More information here.

altNexus technical staff visited TerraClear project in Lao
Paulo Lopes, Carbon Project Officer, visited Nexus member TerraClear in May. TerraClear is a social enterprise disseminating Cermaic Water Purifiers in Laos.  During the field visit Paulo conducted a screening of the project. The output of the field visit will be an assessment of the projects and a clearly defined road map for the future.

Launch of Nexus-beyond offsetting, the direct partnership platform engaging companies on a fair approach to offsetting

alt
Nexus launched an initiative to enable companies and public institutions to support access to clean energy and water for the poorest populations of developing countries.The direct partnership – the first of this kind – was launched on April 11th, 2012, during a social event organized by Green Drinks Singapore and the Lien Centre for Social Innovation. More information here.

Events

Workshop “Transparency and Fairness in climate finance” organized by Nexus and co-hosted by blue moon fund and EEP Mekong, May 11, 2012, Bangkok

alt
The workshop, entitled “Fairness and Transparency in climate funding: taking into account the needs of the poorest populations” was organized by Nexus and co-hosted by blue moon fund and EEP Mekong. Sessions were prepared and facilitated by three technical partners: Finland Futures Research Centre, New Ventures, and Yale Green Lab. The event brought together project developers, public institutions and private sector investors to share their understanding about two sets of issues:

  • The role of Official Development Assistance in unlocking climate and carbon finance for pro-poor projects and facilitating private sector investment
  • The measurement of pro-poor benefits of climate projects and the emergence of fairtrade  and ‘pro-poor’ carbon credits

The workshop report is available on request. Please contact Marion Santini ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

Nexus contributes to the International Workshop on Bamboo Green Growth and Carbon Finance, April 6, 2012, Phnom Penh
Nexus presented at a workshop which had a focus on carbon finance for bamboo projects, demonstrating how the Nexus model can support project types which are underrepresented in the carbon finance market and can be used to overcome a number of challenges which are typically encountered (high transaction costs, monitoring methodologies which are not well adapted for community projects, etc.). Bamboo is a versatile material and projects were presented which sustainably manage bamboo forests to make bamboo furniture, bamboo crafts for the tourist trade, low-cost bamboo buildings and bamboo charcoal.

Nexus attends its first Climate Investment Funds meeting, April 30-May 4, 2012, Washington D.C.
Nexus attended its first meeting as a civil society observer for the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) Pilot Program for Climate Resilience. Nexus brings the voice of pro-poor project developers to CIF and will share notes from the meetings and consultations questions with its constituency. If you would like to be involved, please get in touch with Marion Santini ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Official documentation can be downloaded here.

Nexus facilitates session on Sustainable Energy for All at the B4E conference, May 22-23, 2012, Berlin
Suzanne Chew, Alliance Director for Nexus-Carbon for Development, attended the Business for Environment conference in Berlin on 22-23 May. Suzanne led discussions in a working group on Sustainable Energy for All. A summary report from the conference will soon be available on the B4E website.

Side event and session at Carbon Expo on May 31-1 June, 2012, in Cologne, Germany:

  • FairClimateFund and Fairtrade International, in cooperation with Nexus-Carbon for Development organize a side event entitled “Pro-poor and Fair Trade Carbon Projects” during Carbon Expo. The event will allow participants to see charismatic and pro-poor carbon projects from a different perspective. The event will be held on May 31, from 16:45 to 17:45 in Room 2, Floor 2 in Cologne International Expocentre in Cologne.
  • Nexus will also speak at a session entitled “Carbon Crediting for Low Income Countries” and moderated by Giza Gaspar Martins, Coordinator, DNA, Ministry of Environment, Angola. The session will take place on June 1, 2012 at 10:30-11:30.

Announcement

alt
Nexus welcomes new staff: Suzanne Chew, Alliance Director
As the Alliance Director of Nexus, Suzanne is responsible for driving a united yet adaptive approach across members, to make climate finance work for low-carbon development projects. She previously worked at McKinsey & Company in strategic management consultancy, specializing in 2006 in the climate change sector with TFS Green, a global commodities firm, where she held the position of Regional Manager, Carbon Markets.

New Publications

From Nexus:

From other organizations:

altNexus-Carbon for Development is an alliance of pro-poor project developers whose shared vision is that the carbon market should serve both climate change and poverty alleviation in a sustainable way. As a global alliance of social ventures, Nexus acts as a peer-to-peer carbon services platform, providing awareness raising, capacity building, carbon project development, and carbon asset management. Nexus builds on its members’ expertise to create synergies, streamline procedures and share risks, reducing transaction costs and time to market. www.nexus-c4d.org