Kiwi Ingenuity in Global Climate Financing
In a meeting in London this week a kiwi carbon entrepreneur presented the design of a new climate financing instrument
proposed for the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Sean Weaver from Takaka, Golden Bay, and other
members of a 4-person international team (from Morocco, Sweden, and New York) designed the core architecture of the
proposed climate change ‘Adaptation Benefit Mechanism’.
The Government of Uganda is sponsoring the proposal of the ‘Adaptation Benefit Mechanism’ to the UNFCCC, with the
backing of the African Development Bank.
Dr Weaver is the Executive Director of Ekos – a NZ-based carbon neutrality and rainforest carbon offset supplier, and
environmental finance consultant.
“I was invited into this design team because of my experience as a project developer in the international voluntary
carbon market. I also have experience in results-based payment systems for social and environmental outcomes”, Dr Weaver
said.
The Adaptation Benefit Mechanism (ABM) will be a non-market financing mechanism that uses results-based payment tools
common in the carbon markets. The purpose is to unlock private sector capital for climate change adaptation projects in
developing countries, and to reduce risk to donor and multi-lateral funders.
“The ABM is designed to create opportunities for the private sector to get much more involved in climate change
adaptation projects in developing countries – either as project developers or as project funders,” Weaver said.
“The global corporate social responsibility and institutional investment communities have signalled an appetite for
investing in climate change adaptation. But they want this to be structured to give confidence in the durability of the
outcomes delivered and price transparency,” Weaver said.
Dr Weaver said that climate change adaption has been the poor cousin in global climate financing. “The ABM is designed
to help change this,” he said.
…ends