Certification of climate change mitigation activities is a key tool to ensure the credibility and strength of greenhouse gas emission reduction requirements. Climate finance is the cornerstone of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), made in Paris on 12 December 2015, which entered into force less than a year later, 4 November 2016. 

The “Carbon Financing Manual” guides you through the steps needed to conclude whether your climate mitigation (negative impact) project may be eligible for carbon financing certification. Although there are still concerns about the way organizations use carbon offsets, voluntary and regulated carbon markets continue to grow, learn from past mistakes, become innovative and struggle to remain a significant tool to channel finance directly and effectively to efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change have been rewarded.

Depending on the project location, technology, size, and certification standards, a project’s carbon offsets can be sold in regulated, voluntary carbon markets. Most voluntary carbon projects take place in developing countries, and they offer great opportunities to provide funding and support for social and economic development. However, certification standards’ geographical and technological coverage is expanding and increasingly includes projects launched in industrialized countries.