Ghana and other FCPF participant countries are generating high-quality, high-integrity jurisdictional carbon credits that are helping them to realize their climate goals and gain access to international carbon markets.

Earlier this year, Ghana became the second country in Africa after Mozambique to receive payments from the FCPF Carbon Fund for reducing emissions through REDD+.

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Zambia’s Emission Reductions Program with the ISFL was recently verified and validated after a comprehensive assessment by external auditors.

Negotiations can now begin between the ISFL and Government of Zambia to sign an Emissions Reductions Purchase Agreement (ERPA), which will be the ISFL’s second ERPA, after Ethiopia’s ERPA signing earlier this year.

Read the full assessment report of Zambia’s Integrated Forest Landscape Program

The FCPF and ISFL recently launched an online version of its Sustainable Agricultural Banking Program now available on the World Bank’s Open Learning Campus.  

The self-paced course is free to access and has been developed for bankers, as well as development agencies and partners, wishing to expand financing to farmers. The course provides a step-by-step methodology for developing and launching lending products for agricultural customers that are adopting or scaling-up low-emission sustainable practices.

The program aims to catalyze additional financing for agricultural enterprises through the use of value chain financing. The goal is to help protect forests, decrease landscape degradation, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through smart investments.  

To access the course, simply create an account on the World Bank's Open Learning Campus.

Read more about the program  

The FCPF recently updated the Countries section of its website to include concise snapshots of all 15 Emission Reductions (ER) Programs supported by the FCPF Carbon Fund.

These snapshots provide a quick reference to key features of each ER program, including its main objectives, program location and area, and terms of its Emission Reductions Payment Agreement (ERPA) with the FCPF Carbon Fund.

After the recent signing of Ethiopia’s Emission Reductions Purchase Agreement (ERPA), the ISFL is entering a pivotal period with more ERPA signings expected in the coming year.

At the ISFL’s mid-year governance meetings in May, participants were updated on the progress in Colombia, Indonesia, Mexico and Zambia toward finalizing emission reductions programs and ERPA requirements, putting all four countries on track to sign ERPAs in the next fiscal year.

Meeting participants also learned more on the upcoming release of new ISFL knowledge products, including: two e-courses (available on the World Bank’s Open Learning Campus); a study on promoting biodiversity in integrated land-use and emission reductions initiatives; a guide for countries on the fundamentals of negotiating and agreeing ER program contracts with buyers; and a series of global workshops on private sector engagement and ER credit buying.

Learn more on ISFL’s five ER programs

More on ISFL’s knowledge products



At the FCPF’s recent Carbon Fund meeting (CF26) in Rome, participants continued discussions on how FCPF emission reductions (ER) requirements and processes could be revised to become a “standalone” standard that could be used outside the Carbon Fund. The aim is to help a wider range of ER programs to create high-integrity, FCPF-grade ERs that could be sold to third-party buyers.

Linked to this work, the FCPF presented its outreach strategy to increase awareness of the FCPF Standard. The goal of this outreach is to help REDD+ countries maximize access to carbon markets and carbon finance.

Carbon Fund participants were also briefed on the FCPF’s ongoing third program evaluation, which is set to wrap up in December 2023.

Consult CF26 presentations, agenda and notes

The World Bank recently released a Spanish language video highlighting Costa Rica's first milestone emission reductions payment from the FCPF.

Costa Rica is the first country in Latin America and the Caribbean to receive payment from the FCPF's Carbon Fund for reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

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Reforestation and forest conservation, keys to a win-win in Costa Rica (Revista Summa- in Spanish)

Reforestation and forest conservation, keys to a win-win in Costa Rica (EFE Comunica- in Spanish)

VIDEO (Spanish language): Reforestation and forest conservation, keys to a win-win in Costa Rica (Forbes Centroamerica)

Highlights from the Global Forest Observations Initiative (GFOI) 2023 Plenary (9-11 May, Rome)

The UN Forum on Forests 18th session highlights (8-12 May, New York)