If you missed the FCPF-ISFL global workshop in May on private sector finance, not to worry! Recordings in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish as well as speakers’ and panelists’ presentations are now available on the FCPF and ISFL websites. A comprehensive workshop report will also be available soon.

Back for a third year, this popular virtual workshop focused on opportunities to partner with the private sector to drive natural climate solutions. In collaboration with FCFP’s Private Sector Observers, IETA, CDP and the Meridian Institute, the workshop brought together leaders, government representatives, and members of the private sector from around the globe to explore topics covering climate finance, enabling conditions, and sustainable supply chains.

After more than 10 years of successful REDD+ readiness efforts, the Government of Lao PDR hosted a ceremony in June to mark the closing of its FCPF Readiness grant. The country’s focus is now shifting to the achievement of results-based payments under the country’s first jurisdictional REDD+ program.

Nepal reached a significant milestone in advancing the implementation of its emission reductions program when it was declared “effective” in June. Nepal can now progress to the next steps of implementing its Emission Reductions (ER) Payment Agreement, including the submission of the country’s ER monitoring report.

Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) is a very important part of producing verified, responsible emission reduction credits that buyers can purchase with confidence.

In a new World Bank Climate Explainer, Andres Espejo, Senior Carbon Finance Specialist in the World Bank’s Climate Change Fund Management Unit, explains why MRV is important, what each step of the process entails, and how the World Bank is supporting technological innovations to transform MRV for carbon credits.

Video: Understanding the Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) of Carbon Credits

Equity was a major theme at the UN’s Bonn Climate Change Conference in June, with discussions on compensation for climate damage and the need for improved climate adaptation and resilience, setting the stage for COP27 in November.

Indigenous Peoples’ observers and technical advisors of the FCPF and World Bank’s EnABLE fund attended the conference and shared information about EnABLE’s overarching aim to enhance social inclusion in results-based climate finance.

As part of the annual Innovate4Climate conference in May, FCPF and ISFL co-hosted a policy workshop entitled “The Future of REDD+ Financing” that brought together financiers, fund managers, donors, and other practitioners and partners in the fields of forestry and sustainable landscape management.

Discussions centered around major developments in the REDD+ financing landscape, including the upcoming closure of the FCPF’s Readiness Fund, and the emergence of new financing initiatives such as the Climate Emissions Reduction Facility (CERF), and the Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest finance (LEAF) Coalition.

A recording of the session is available on the Innovate4Climate website.

In June, the FCPF’s long-running Capacity Building Program supported a regional workshop in Accra, Ghana that brought together Indigenous Peoples and Civil Society stakeholders across eight African countries to share updates and experiences.

At the workshop, participants were introduced to a new training and e-learning project to scale up capacity-building initiatives in preparation for the closure of the FCPF Readiness fund in December 2022.

The new GET REDDY podcast, financed by the FCPF and World Bank's EnABLE fund, has already reached an estimate 40 million people through community radio, and about 500,000 more through social media channels. So far, the podcast has been broadcast across seven FCPF countries and over three dozen radio stations, with more countries and stations scheduled for broadcast in the months ahead.

In the podcast, Indigenous People and local community practitioners explain their views on result-based climate finance programs, and share their experiences of engaging in the programs. In this way, GET REDDY is helping to demystify results-based climate finance and the often technical language around REDD+.

With support from the FCPF, the World Bank recently launched a unique diagnostics toolkit, called the Behavioral Sciences Approach to Empowering Women in Forest Landscapes.

This toolkit uses a comprehensive understanding of human decision making to identify and address gender gaps in sustainable forest management. The goal of this toolkit is to help close gender gaps to ensure women share equally in the opportunities and benefits of forest management programs.

With support from the FCPF, the World Bank’s Energy and Extractives Global Practice recently published a report on Developing Forest-Smart Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Standards, including a document on forest-smart standards for the sector.

The report highlights forest-smart mining principles to help miners and local support organizations mitigate mining impacts on forests. The report integrates forest-smart principles, criteria and indicators, and guidelines into source standards to help safeguard artisanal and small-scale mining activities.

East Kalimantan receives award for caring for its forests (Sawit Indonesia)

Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Sudan make progress under the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (IPP Media)

Paving the way to COP 27: the Bonn Climate Change Conference (European Commission)

Kenya surpasses 10% tree cover as world marks conservation day (The Star Kenya)